You Can Do Better
by AlwaysNotUpdating
Summary: You can do better. Four sad words that hurt when spoken. Those four words are the story of Electra's life.
1. Kitten Compound Arc 1

**_Title: You Can Do Better  
Summary: You can do better. Four sad words. Those four words are the story of Electra's life. She's always been a disappointment. She wants to prove herself, but the older Jellicles seem to push her down. Can she overcome them and show them who she really is?_  
**

**A/N: Rewrote this chapter to make more sense. I realized that I made a few mistakes anyway. If you're a new reader, then everything's fine!**

**Please read and review!  
**

* * *

"You can do better", Skimbleshanks stated to his 10 month year old daughter as she was trying to learn to walk straight. After several failed attempts, the young kitten was ready for a nap. Skimbleshanks sighed heavily and forced a smile, "That's okay."

Compared to the other kittens born the same year, his daughter, Electra, was the slowest learner. All the other kittens had learned to walk at about 4-5 months. Jennyanydots hoped that she was just a late bloomer.

Skimble tucked Electra into bed and watched her dozing face. If he looked at her this way, he wouldn't be able to tell that she had a lame leg. Old Deuteronomy assured him that she would limp a little bit, but by the time she was 10 or so, it would be like she never had a limp in the first place. Jennyanydots went over to Skimbleshanks and hugged him tightly.

"She'll be fine", Jenny cooed, "I'm sure of it."

"Our only daughter", Skimble lamented, "I had wished that she would be special."

"She is special", Jenny whispered, "Why else would we name her Electra?"

"True, I just hope she grows up to be a good Jellicle."

The snoozing Electra was oblivious to everything around her. But she was still very young. There were many more disappointments to come.

_

* * *

15 months later_

Skimbleshanks watched his little daughter walk around sniffing the flowers and looking for something to chew on. He had to admit that it was endearing in a way.

Among the four female kittens, Electra seemed to be the tomboy of the group. She ran around with the younger toms at times and followed Munkustrap around adoringly. It was sort of cute. Jemima definitely had the prize for being cutest, though. Her wide eyes and innocent smile just made you smile back in return. Victoria was smarter than all the rest and could trick many Jellicles into giving her what she wanted. Etcetera was hyper and kind. No matter what the problem was, she would try to fix it. Electra was energetic and plain. Just normal.

Jennyanydots loved her daughter freely and without worry. She knew that her daughter would become someone important one day. Electra only knew that she liked her mother better without knowing why. Maybe it was the hope radiating off of her mother like a summer's glow.

Jenny would spend the nights whispering or singing into Electra's ear.

"You're so wonderful, Electra, we're lucky to have a daughter like you", she would whisper. Skimble would be watching from the other side of the den with an upset look on his face. How could Jenny bring Electra's hopes up like that, especially when the dark tabby was due to fail anyway?

_

* * *

11 months later_

"Happy Birthday!" Jenny cheered. Electra was having a small birthday party with her three best friends. Jemima laughed and whispered, "How old are you?"

"That's so stupid, we're all the same age", Victoria scoffed.

Etcetera watched Jemima pout and shrugged, "Whatever, how old are you?"

"Three", Electra whispered with a beaming smile. Skimble watched from the corner looking at his daughter. He smiled slowly. Maybe it was going to be okay.

After the party Electra was bored. Jenny was playing catch with her while Skimble slept out in the sun.

Suddenly, Electra pounced onto her father and he was jerked awake by the impact. Sitting up, he glared at Electra and began to talk sternly.

"Don't do that, Electra!" Skimble shouted, "Someone could get hurt, you should know better!"

Jenny hurried over and held Electra in a protecting embrace and hissed, "Skimble, she was juts playing around."

The Railway Cat ignored his mate and said to Electra, who was trembling, "You know better than that!"

Tears streamed down Electra's face as she sobbed, "I'm sorry!"

Skimble's expression didn't change and he walked away without another word. Jenny held onto Electra tightly and whispered, "It's okay. Daddy is just tired."

"I'm sorry!" Electra screamed and wouldn't stop sobbing. She hugged her mom and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Those words might as well have been her motto.

_

* * *

4 months later_

"You can do better", Jennyanydots whispered at her three year old daughter with soft eyes. Electra bowed her head in shame and sighed quietly. Jenny had found out that Electra had bonked Pouncival hard on the head.

Her daughter whispered, "I'm sorry."

Tears fell from her dark eyes onto the ground. Electra watched the ground intently, not quite understanding what was so wrong. Her mother almost never lectured her like this. The dark tabby kitten shook as she listened.

"Hitting others is wrong", Jenny explained patiently, using softer tones. Electra nodded and said, "I'm sorry, Mommy."

Jenny had acted like her father and Electra was now confused. Wasn't only the father supposed to be stern? Maybe it wasn't so.

The mother she knew would have asked her why she had hit Pouncival, but that queen hadn't. Was Jenny still her mother? Electra had hit Pouncival after he had made Jemima cry. She just wanted him to know how bad it felt to be crying.

Electra stood alone in the corner of the den with her head bowed. She felt alone. When you're three years old, loneliness is the worst you can feel. It hurt.

_

* * *

7 months later_

Pouncival was playing tag with the female kittens and all went well until a fight broke out. Electra had accidently ran into Pouncival when she had been looking out for Etcetera, who had been it. They both fell down pretty hard. Pouncival rubbed his nose and began to whimper.

Electra was a little surprised and said, "I'm sorry!"

"You're so stupid", Pouncival yelled at her. Electra's eyes went wide and her lower lip began to tremble. The young tom was looking at her with mean eyes. The dark tabby looked down and tried not to hear his words. Pouncival wasn't the brightest either and he continued to yell until he got to the last part, "I hate you. Your so slow."

Electra looked up with dry eyes and she glared back at Pouncival. He was a little surprised. She looked at him with an icy look and whispered, "So what?"

Just then, Skimble arrived, having heard yelling and asked, "What's wrong?"

Pouncival looked at him in surprise and immediately burst out into tears. While sobbing, he half yelled, "Electra pushed me down and told me I was stupid!"

"I didn't!" Electra denied with pleading eyes. Jemima, Victoria and Etcetera walked towards them, oblivious to what had happened and asked, "What happened?"

Skimble snapped, "Electra, apologize to Pouncival!"

His eyes were blazing and Electra trembled violently. She looked at her father. The look was so scary she finally turned to Pouncival.

"I'm…" Electra tried to apologize, but she couldn't believe she actually had to say sorry for something she didn't do. It was a little embarrassing, having your friends see your father yell at you. The dark tabby remembered all the times her father looked at her, never right in the eye, but focused on her face. That look was always on his face. The disappointed look. The sad look. The angry look. All together the look pierced through her flesh and bones straight to her heart and then through her body creating a hole in her chest.

"I'm sorry!" Electra yelled and ran past Skimble and back to the den.

That same night, Skimble spent the whole night staring at the wall with blank eyes. Jenny explained to Electra that sometimes you had to let go of that feeling of hurt and apologize anyway. Even if she didn't do it, apologizing was the right thing. The dark tabby could only nod wihtout understanding any meaning of the lecture.

_

* * *

8 months later_

Jelly and Jenny were the Kitten Caretakers, they were in charge of the Kitten Compound and the little ones. They taught them how to talk and read a little. Reading was important to Jellicles. Only humans were supposed to read, but in case you were ever lost, knowing how to read was a great help of getting back.

Jelly had nicknames for each of them. Victoria was undoubtedly, the fastest learner and learned how to read as well as most Jellicles within a few months. So her nickname was Toshiko, since Victoria's former owners had been from Japan. Its meaning in Japanese, "Genius Child."

Jemima was of average intelligence, but she was a glowing young queen. Toms seemed to be attracted to her just when she did something moderately cute, like yawning. They flocked to her. Jelly called her, "Aphrodite", after the Greek Goddess of Love. Demeter hated that name for her as it suggested that she would have many lovers and would play around. She certainly didn't want that.

Etcetera was as hyper as ever and kind too. Jelly called her, "Yo-yo", since she was always bouncing up and down.

Electra was plain and always bored. She wasn't super hyper. She wasn't super anything. Maybe just super plain. Jelly had wondered about giving her a nickname, but she couldn't think of anything. Finally she decided on, "Little Flame." The name was odd to everyone else, even when Jelly explained it. Electra means, "Amber", and she was passionate to her soul. Little Flame was appropriate.

Electra didn't know what passionate meant, but she gathered it was something only her father thought was bad, because every time Jelly called her, "Little Flame", Skimble would look away with a stony expression.

The dark tabby hoped she was passionate because it made the Jellicles (especially her mother) happy to hear it. Maybe she could make her father proud too.

...

And maybe Jellicles could fly.

**A/N: Thanks for reading! Please review! Minor changes were made.  
**


	2. Kitten Compound Arc 2

**_Title: You Can Do Better  
Summary: You can do better. Four sad words. Those four words are the story of Electra's life.  
_**

**

* * *

A/N: Forgive me. I uploaded the wrong chapter last time. Thank you to the unknown, for pointing that out. For this unexpected delay, I will upload another chapter ASAP.  
**

**To my awesome, quick, favorite reviewers:**

**To PlatoLuvr-08: Sorry, I didn't have time yesterday! But here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy it. Thanks for reviewing!**

**To A: That's so nice of you to say. A little short in the review, but thank you so much! I hope you read this!**

**To AdrenalineRush16: Thank you for reviewing! I agree with Skimble being caring and kind. That was in the musical, when Electra is a lot older. I'm portraying Skimble as a complicated character. He is at first sort of hard on her, but later she sort of softens him. Something like that. You should post your story about Electra, it seems interesting!**

**To xx-jenii-xx: Thanks for reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter too! **

**To mungo'skitty18: Here is the next chapter! I hope you enjoy this one too. Thanks!**

**To musicgal3: Thanks for reviewing! I will try to update as soon as possible.**

**To soraskybeauty: I think she's really pretty too. Thanks for reviewing!**

**To the unknown: Many thanks for telling me. I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
**

**Note: If you think the story is going slowly, please read the last sentence in this chapter over and over again. Don't just skip to that sentence though. Thanks!**

**__****Note: Rewritten, if you haven't read this chapter before, just carry on. Thanks! Read and review, please.**  


**_

* * *

_**_7 months later_

Jenny and Jelly were taking care of the younger kittens and talking at the same time. After so many years of looking after kittens, it was relatively easy for them to multitask. Jenny sighed suddenly, "How is Electra doing in reading?"

"Reading? Oh, she doesn't show much interest", Jelly replied truthfully, "But if she knew about books, I bet she'd love them."

"I think the books we have are a little too mature for a five year old", Jenny laughed, "But I'll try to find a children's book for her."

"That seems like a good idea."

Jenny watched her daughter playing tag with the toms and the corners of her mouth lifted up slightly.

* * *

Skimble was doing his job, overseeing the trains, etc. As he worked, he couldn't help but think about his daughter, that little beam of hope for him. He knew he was putting a lot on her shoulders, but his father had done that to him and ultimately it was for her own good. The other day Electra had come running to him when he had finally returned home and gave him a paper flower that she had folded. The look on her face had been so happy, he couldn't help but laugh with her.

There were times when Skimble wanted a different daughter and times when he wanted a new life. He couldn't be content with what he had and the one most important thing he didn't know was that: The greatest of harm can come from the best intentions.

_

* * *

1 month later_

Electra was only five, but she knew that emotions were peculiar; certain things made her feel one way and others made her feel another. The feeling called happiness was the most pleasant she had ever experienced and it was like her heart was bursting with rays of light. She would want to laugh forever when she felt that way and then there was a terrible thing called sadness. Electra was well acquainted with that one, too. It was what she felt when her father looked at her and then away. Then her heart would want to break into a million tiny pieces and even then, she would love her father with those little pieces.

When you're young, the world is simple in a complicated way.

_

* * *

1 month later_

Tumblebrutus was playing tag with Jemima, Electra and Etcetera. While they were running, Tumble paid special attention to Electra such as making sure that if she was "it", he would let her tag him. Her leg made her slow down quite a bit and it was hard to pretend, but being a year older, Tumblebrutus could take humiliation better than most toms.

From the sidelines, Pouncival yelled, "I can't believe you let a girl catch you, Tumblebrutus!"

Tumble stopped abruptly and turned to his loud friend. Then with a solemn expression he said, "She's faster than I am."

Hearing this, Electra smiled happily, at least Tumble would always pretend for her. She knew he pretended, but that made their relationship so much more special.

_

* * *

3 months later_

Electra sighed once more and listened to Victoria reading out of a children's book. The stories were quite dull for her since the ending was always the same.

"…and they lived happily ever after!" Victoria finished the fairy tale while Etcetera laughed and said, "That was better than the Cinder Princess story."

"It was Cinderella", Jemima whispered to her, but the hyper kitten only rolled her eyes and pulled Electra impatiently.

"Come on, let's play a game", Etcetera cheered anyway as Electra looked at her friend and asked, "What game?"

"I don't know. Something that involves a lot of running", Etcetera smiled at the very thought.

_

* * *

2 months later_

Skimble watched his daughter carefully as she lifted a tire up and off the railroad track. He enlisted her help on days when it was carefree and slightly windy. Electra smiled and ran around the railway station, admiring every little thing she saw, but she really was a little kitten.

_

* * *

3_ _months later_

Pouncival continued to harass Electra, it was the best sort of entertainment for the mischievous tom. The best part of the game was that Electra never backed down, unlike Jemima or Etcetera. They were such queens.

"Electra, why are you so dumb?" Pouncival teased with a lopsided grin. For Electra, that lopsided grin was an evil smirk. Different people interpret things differently. The dark tabby looked at Pouncival and said, "Why are _you_ so dumb?"

"I'm not dumb", Pouncival protested while Electra bit her lip from laughing and caught herself in time. Spending time with Victoria really did pay off in the end. The white queen had told her once that Pouncival was easy to deal with. All you had to do was distract him. The young tom was already distracted enough and just a few words were enough to throw him off course.

"I have to go home", Electra told him and left. In any other language, but Pounce's, that meant that she was finished with him.

* * *

Plato winced as he watched Tumblebrutus and Pouncival tackle each other. Fighting was so useless, he thought. Tumblebrutus had probably been offended by some offhand remark Pouncival had said. It was remarkable how, after all this time, they could still find things to fight about.

There were a lot of things that they could still fight about in the future, truth be told. Like queens.

_

* * *

3 months later_

Jelly couldn't believe it when she had tested Electra on reading. At first she thought it had been a fluke of some sort, but when she tried again. The result was the same.

She rushed to her friend, Jenny's house, and burst into the door. Jenny and Skimble looked up in surprise. Jelly gushed, "Hi! It's good you're here, Skimble!"

"What's wrong?" Jenny asked, very concerned for her friend's sanity.

"You mean, what not wrong!" Jelly cried out, "Electra is simply amazing!"

"What do you mean?" Skimble couldn't process those words together right. Jelly's eyes were wide with excitement.

"I tested her on basic reading and she could read just as well as Victoria", Jelly stopped for a moment to take a deep breath. Skimble blinked once. Then again. Jenny gasped and said, "That's so wonderful! I never knew Electra knew how to read so well!"

"Me neither", Jelly laughed. They stopped and looked at Skimble. His face was frozen…then he suddenly burst out, "That's amazing! I can't believe this at all!"

* * *

That night, while Skimble told his daughter how proud he was, he thanked the Everlasting Cat for giving him something so perfect. But Skimble forgot an important rule of life. Rule number 4: Life is not perfect. It will never be perfect. If things seem perfect, something wrong is bound to happen.

_

* * *

2 months later_

Electra was, what most would call, smart. She was a different sort of smart from Victoria. Victoria was manipulatively smart. She knew how people would react to certain things. Electra was smart in the ways of learning. She soaked information up like water in a sponge. Reading was one of the ways she learned things the best. The information was always put to use in some way or another. Whether it was showing off, entertaining herself, or mocking Pouncival, it always helped.

The smarter she acted, the heavier the burden got. The burden was all the expectations of the ones she loved. But of course, the burden was still relatively light and so Electra didn't notice the pressure. After all, she had spent many years of her life being oblivious.

_

* * *

4 months later_

On her mother's birthday, Electra wrote a short poem in the, "Roses are Red", format. She read aloud for her mother and father to hear.

"Roses are red, violets are blue. The sun only shines because of you." Electra smiled at her mother's tearful expression. It was a good tearful expression. It meant that she loved her and her poem a lot. Skimble laughed and said, "That was very short, but I liked it very much."

"It wasn't for you", Jenny joked and hugged her daughter close. Then she whispered, "Thank you. It was a wonderful poem."

_

* * *

3 months later_

Electra had taken up on colleting little rocks and would examine them for hours. Skimble didn't like her new hobby since she had exchanged it with reading. When she stopped reading, she stopped learning important things. The Railway Cats wanted his daughter to keep on learning since it would help her one day.

"Electra, put those rocks away", Skimble called, "It's time to eat dinner."

"Coming!"

Five minutes passed and still no Electra. Skimble called again "Electra!"

"Just a second!"

"Now!"

"Please, two more minutes", Electra implored. Skimble called out even louder, "Electra, it's dinner time. Put away those silly rocks or I'll take them away."

"Fine!' Electra said. She stomped into the middle of the den and pouted. But she sat down anyway. Skimble looked at her and said, "This is the third time this has happened. I call for you, but you're examining rocks. Rocks! We're throwing them away tomorrow."

"No Dad!" Electra begged, "Please don't' throw them away!"

"Then stop wasting so much time with them! You seem to love them more than you love your parents", Skimble snapped. Electra lowered her head so he couldn't see her tears. Even though he couldn't see her tears, he sure could hear her sniffing. Jenny entered the den and exclaimed, "What's wrong, Electra?"

"She was playing with those silly rocks again", Skimble sighed. Jenny looked at Electra and whispered, "Next time just come to eat right away, okay?"

Electra nodded. The whole encounter was probably only 15 minutes long. It was a small portion of Electra's life. But she would forever remember that day because in the end, it's the little things that count the most.

**Please review? This is a pretty plain chapter, it's supposed to make you think a bit. I hope you enjoyed reading and review to tell me how to make this story better.**

**I hope you can take the speeds of my chapters. Um...I forgot to mention, that my inspiration for this story comes from a few songs by Three Days Grace. They are an awesome band. I recommend them if you are bored and want to listen to some music.**

**__****Note: Rewritten, minor changes made.**  



	3. Kitten Compound Arc 3

**A/N: Man it turned out that ASAP turned out to be ALAP (As Long As Possible). Sorry about that. I wrote about 2/3 of this chapter and then my parents announced we were going to the Windy City for three days. They might have mentioned it before, I just didn't notice. Anyway I got back and then I didn't like what I had written and had to rewrite the entire thing. Sorry!**

**To my reviewers:**

**To AdrenalineRush16: Don't slug Skimble! Pounce is fine though. I have a feeling things are going to be slow for awhile. Anyway, thank you for telling me about my paragraphs, I didn't even notice. Thanks for reviewing! If you do post the Electra story, please tell me, I want to read it!**

**To SummerRose12: Thanks for reviewing! Your review was heartwarming. Here is the next chapter and it is slightly happier. Hope you enjoy!**

**To theAlchemistfox: Once again, thanks for pointing the chapter thing out! Glad you got an account and hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**To Republic-of-Heaven: Thanks for reading, if you get too confused, just ask about it. Thanks again!**

**Sorry if I left anyone out.**

**Note: It seems that every story needs pairings, this one will. You'll see. Anything in this chapter that seems to hint at a pairing, shouldn't be taken too seriously. Don't automatically jump to any conclusions. Thanks, oh yeah...rating bumped to T for a little swearing.**

**__****Note: Rewritten because I felt some things were missing/wrong.**  


_

* * *

1 year and 10 months later_

Electra had turned 9 just the day before and had a small party in celebration. The next morning the dark tabby woke up in her family's den and stretched herself. Turning sleepily to the right, she saw her mother smiling down at her and murmured, "I feel so old."

A laugh came from the opposite side of the den and Electra turned in surprise to see her father standing there.

"How old do you feel, Electra?" Jenny teased with a grin.

Electra stood still and cocked her head to one side, "I feel about as old as Dad!"

While Jenny and Electra laughed at the remark, Skimbleshanks pretended to pout and said, "Too bad you can't act older."

"Dad!"

* * *

When a change happens, it seems quite sudden, but in truth changes happen little by little over time. There is no such thing as an overnight change in personality, in economy, in anything. Living things have a habit of changing over time. Preserving something is most difficult and none strive to do that.

Electra thought that she had always been clever. But she was wrong.

Jemima had thought that she had always looked like her sister. But she was wrong.

Victoria thought that she always had been a wonderful dancer. But she was wrong.

Pouncival thought that he had always been a mischievous tom. But he was wrong.

Etcetera thought that she had always been energetic. But she was wrong.

Tumblebrutus thought that he had always been friends with Pouncival. But he was wrong.

Plato thought he had always been different. And he was right.

_

* * *

2 months later_

The Fantastic Four, more commonly known as Jemima, Victoria, Etcetera and Electra, were sitting together, just hanging out.

Suddenly Etcetera exclaimed from nowhere, "Jemima likes Pouncival!"

"Etcetera!" A protesting squeal from Jemima. Victoria and Electra merely exchanged cool, amused looks. Etcetera slapped her hand over her mouth and squeaked, "Sorry!"

Jemima pouted unhappily while Victoria mimicked her. The white kitten mocked, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Yeah, we could have kept the secret better", Electra joined in trying to hide a smile as Jemima blushed.

"Well, Pouncival is cute", Etcetera tried to help the small calico out.

Victoria shook her head, "No way, Draco Malfoy is way cuter."

"Who?" Etcetera blinked twice, wondering who that was. She scanned her brain trying to match the name with a face, to no avail.

"Remember?" Electra urged as Jemima thought, also unable to remember. Finally giving up, Electra sighed, "From Harry Potter."

A moment of silence.

"Oooohhhhhh!"

Victoria buried her face into her paws as Electra cleared her throat in embarrassment. Once a week the Jellicles watched a movie at the nearby theater and last week had been Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Needless to say, Jemima and Etcetera had been too scared of the basilisk and blood to actually pay attention to the characters.

The white queen attempted to start over, "Draco Malfoy. He's so cute that I'll ignore the fact that he's human."

"Agreed", Electra nodded as Jemima thought back, "Wasn't he…the bad guy?"

"You remember!" Victoria pounced onto Jemima knocking her back. From a distance Pouncival and Tumblebrutus ran towards the quartet.

"This looks like fun", Pouncival exclaimed. Jemima turned away with a visible blush. Tumble looked at the calico and asked, "Are you okay, Jemima?"

The calico stammered, "Uh…um…well…"

Victoria laughed without even trying to help her out. Jemima exclaimed, "Victoria likes Plato!"

"WHAT!?!?!" Victoria yelled.

For the rest of the day Victoria chased Jemima around the Junkyard trying to tackle her. Sometimes being small was a good thing. Victoria just couldn't catch her.

_

* * *

3 months later_

Plato watched as the heavy black stone sank down in the pond. He watched until the stone hit the bottom, then he reached in and took it out. Most kittens were afraid of the water, but there was nothing to be afraid of. It wouldn't swallow you up and it couldn't think since it didn't have a brain. It was about as harmful as Etcetera was.

"Plato!" An annoying voice drifted over. The thoughtful tom didn't turn around but gripped the stone tightly. His name was called again, but he pretended not to hear it. Finally he saw a paw waving in front of his face but chose to ignore her in irritation.

Victoria grinned and said, "Munkustrap is looking for you."

She was completely undeterred by his blank face. Finally he turned towards the white kitten and whispered, "Thanks."

The white queen blushed under his heavy gaze until the awkwardness of the situation seemed to catch up to her. She muttered something that he didn't quite catch and ran back to the Junkyard.

Plato looked at the stone in his paw and wondered if it could bleed like he did. Only one way to find out.

* * *

Pouncival grabbed Jemima's paw and ran around the Junkyard yelling something. The calico managed to keep up, but with a reddened face. Lucky for her, Pouncival was oblivious to everything that didn't concern running around until he was too tired to string three words together.

Tumblebrutus swallowed hard as his friend tugged Jemima around the Junkyard. It wouldn't have been so bad if Jemima wasn't smiling. But she was. She was beaming.

_

* * *

2 month later_

The Fantastic Four stuck together as if bound by glue. One day, Victoria proposed an idea, "We should make a pact."

"What's a pact?" Etcetera asked while looking away, obviously not interested in whatever it was. Electra explained, "It's like a promise, sort of."

"A pact for what?" Jemima watched the white queen's eyes gleam with excitement. Etcetera perked up a bit, knowing that look quite well.

"A pact to always be friends", Victoria simply muttered. Electra raised one eyebrow. It wasn't a bad idea and even if the pact wasn't binding, it sounded fun.

Jemima whispered, "How do we make a pact?"

"Like this", Victoria gestured for the three of them to hold out one paw. The Fantastic Four stacked up their paws by age. At the bottom was Victoria's paw, then on top of her's was Etcetera's, then Electra's and last, but not least, Jemima's on the very top.

"Repeat after me", Victoria whispered, "I solemnly swear to devote the rest of my life to this friendship of the Fantastic Four. Until death do us part."

Electra, Jemima and Etcetera obediently repeated her words down to the exact sound. The white queen nodded with a big grin on her face. Etcetera laughed and looked at Jemima who was blushing for some reason.

_

* * *

3 months later_

The week that Electra turned 10, three important things happened in her life, besides being a decade old. The most important, to her, was that she no longer limped at all, just as Old Deuteronomy had predicted. The second thing was a new kitten had been brought into the Junkyard. His name was Quaxo or something. Quaxo was a black and white tuxedo tom who was terribly shy for the first few days but quickly warmed up to the rest of the kittens. Electra thought he was a little boring, but whatever. The last thing that happened was an important discovery of her's. Electra had finally discovered sarcasm, the meaning of life.

Electra felt that looking back on her life, it seemed like yesterday that she had first met her friends. It seemed so far in the distant past.

_

* * *

2 months later_

Pouncival grinned at his best pal, Tumblebrutus. Admittedly, sometimes Tumble seemed like more of an enemy than a friend, but Pouncival wasn't one to care about such petty details. Plato sort of hung out with them, but sometimes he got a little weird. Like yesterday Tumble had been talking about this sport that the humans played. In the middle of his monologue, Plato had suddenly looked up and said, "Fuck the humans."

Both Pouncival and Tumble stopped in their tracks and looked at Plato with surprise. But then Plato looked at them as if asking them if they were afraid of the word. Pouncival didn't get why anyone would swear, all it did was cause Jenny or Jelly to whack him on the head. But he couldn't lose face in front of his friends.

"Yeah, f-fuck them", Pouncival echoed and turned away as if in shame for what he had said. Tumble looked away without saying anything.

_

* * *

1 month later_

Electra hated Pouncival with a burning passion. A burning passion of at least 451 degrees Fahrenheit. Why did she hate the little bugger so much? What had he done to deserve it? Oh, absolutely everything. And ever since that new tom had arrived, Admetus or something, Pouncival had become unbearably arrogant.

Usually the kittens kept away from the slightly older toms and queens that happened to visit the Kitten Compound sometimes. They were around Jemima's sister's age. Like Bombalurina, Cassandra, Alonzo and all those dangerous felines. Well, that's what Jelly had told her. Those older ones were "dangerous", and "not to be approached until you're older".

Needless to say, Pouncival and Admetus approached them.

It hadn't gone well, by the looks of the bruises on Pouncival's back. Apparently Alonzo had taken one look at the little nuisance and came up with the same conclusion as Electra had, he was annoying.

Jelly attempted to chide Alonzo for it, but the black and white tom hadn't been listening as always.

_

* * *

2 months later_

The Fantastic Four sat in a small group discussing whatever it was that they wanted to.

"That would go over real well", Electra muttered as Victoria put up a suggestion for something utterly stupid and crazy. Suddenly from behind a tire a voice called out to them.

"Oh, fresh meat."

The four turned towards the voice to see a handsome Maine Coon standing watching them while idly tapping his paw impatiently. Etcetera's eyes grew wide as she saw the tom. Electra just watched for a moment.

The Maine Coon patted Etcetera on the head and smirked, "Usually Old D gets a stomachache after I visit younger kittens, but I'm sure he won't object this time."

"Um, who are you?" Victoria asked while looking at the tom with wide eyes. The Maine Coon laughed and Electra could swear that it was the sweetest sound she had ever heard.

"I'm THE Rum Tum Tugger", the handsome Maine Coon answered and then he did a pelvic thrust towards Etcetera. Normally if any tom had done that it would have looked silly. It would look like Pouncival trying to be smart. But since it was THE Rum Tum Tugger, it was sexy.

Unknowingly, all four of the kittens squealed and then THE Rum Tum Tugger smiled and said, "I've got to go. Just tell me your names, okay?"

"I'm Etcetera!"

Victoria looked away sneering for a moment as Etcetera latched onto the Maine Coon's leg. The white queen looked at him and said, "Victoria."

THE Rum Tum Tugger merely smiled back at her and turned to Electra. The dark tabby felt this weird feeling like she wanted the tom to really like her. It was an odd feeling.

"Electra", she just managed to sputter out as Jemima looked down. Finally THE Rum Tum Tugger turned to Jemima and laughed.

"Do you have a name?"

Jemima couldn't say anything, but it didn't seem to bother the handsome tom in the least. He laughed again and said, "That's okay. Tell me when you're ready."

The Fantastic Four couldn't help but feel even more fantastic after meeting that tom. Years from that day, at least two of them would hate the tom, but at the moment, they all loved him. Things change.

_

* * *

1 month later_

"It's official", Etcetera gasped in elation. Electra gave her a leveling glance. The two of them were in Electra's den and Etcetera had burst out of nowhere. The dark tabby stared before Etcetera could manage to say anything else.

"Pouncival and Jemima are going out", Etcetera screamed and jumped up in down. Electra rolled her eyes.

"You don't have anything to say?" Etcetera almost sounded disappointed.

"Why would I have anything to say?" The dark tabby rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling.

Rolling her eyes, Etcetera elaborated, "Come on, stop pretending. We all know you like Pouncival."

If Etcetera had wanted a violent reaction from her friend, well, she got it. Electra flipped onto her feet quickly and half-yelled, "What?!?"

"Stop denying it", her friend pushed. Electra scoffed and pretended to put a claw down her own throat.

"Puh-lease, I'd rather eat a banana than look at that jerk twice", Electra said, "But maybe I'll profess my undying love to him, anyway."

"See you do like him", Etcetera exclaimed, the biting sarcasm going way over her head.

"Oh boy."

_

* * *

3 months later_

"Why aren't you out with your friends?"

The voice of her father broke Electra's slight trance. The dark tabby looked up in surprise and asked, "Do you want me to go out?"

"No, just wondering."

"I'm sorry, Dad", Electra said. Skimbleshanks looked at his daughter and wondered what she was apologizing for.

"I'll leave now", she whispered and before Skimble could process it correctly, she was gone.

It felt like her parents really didn't want her around.

_

* * *

2 months later_

"Quaxo is an oddity", Electra concluded to her three closest friends. Jemima looked at her with a sort of, [shh-he-might-hear-you] look. Victoria was still lying about, bored and conconting plans to get Plato to like her. Etcetera seemed to be the only one interested in what the dark tabby had to say.

"How is he odd?" Etcetera asked while dancing to the music playing from the abandoned and broken jukebox. It was broken in the way that it wouldn't stop playing music.

"For one week he acted really nice to me. Like a slave almost. He followed me around and when I needed something he'd fetch it. Then suddenly he totally ignored me for three days. This week I keep catching him staring at me or something."

Electra sighed heavily as Jemima patted her on the back trying to comfort her. Victoria sighed heavily and said, "It's obvious that he likes you."

"Me? You're joking", Electra scoffed while crossing her fingers praying that she was joking. The white queen rolled around twice before shaking her head.

"Obviously, he thought that if he followed you around like a Pollicle, you'd like him. Then either Pouncival or Admetus told him that it was pathetic and the way to get a queen is by ignoring her. Quaxo is having a hard time ignoring you and keeps looking over at you." Victoria finished impressively. Jemima and Electra looked at her in awe.

"Wow", Jemima whispered reverantly.

* * *

Plato swatted Pouncival backwards and asked, "Are you still with Jemima?"

"Pft, no way. She's too quiet." Pouncival laughed it off and suddenly out of nowhere, Tumble tackled him.

"Ow!"

Plato watched in his dark and brooding way and suddenly got up and just left. He had better things to do than to watch a jealous Tumble attacking Pouncival.

_

* * *

1 month later_

Electra sat down near a small pond near the Junkyard. She called it, "Lonely Pond", for reasons even she didn't know. Whenever the dark tabby felt sad or alone, she looked into the pond and watched the depths of the waters. For some odd reason it made her feel better. On a few rare occasions she'd put her head under the water and scream out all the anger and frustration she bottled up.

"Looking into to it makes you feel better, right?"

Turning in surprise, Electra was surprised to see Plato standing about 10 feet away from her. They had probably exchanged 15 words in her entire life.

"Is it the swirling of the concentrated part or the way it seems to go way deeper than it is?" Ever impassive, Plato watched her lazily with half-closed eyes.

"What?" Electra couldn't believe she was actually having a conversation with him. Victoria had told the Fantastic Four that the longest sentence he had ever uttered to her was, "That's fine, I'll think about it."

That was a total of six words and Plato had just uttered a sentence of twenty words to her. Oh boy, Victoria was going to be angry if she saw this.

"Which makes you feel better?" The way he said it was like a conversation about the weather.

"Uh, the swirling", Electra looked down knowing she sounded really dumb.

"Really." It wasn't a question. Plato just looked at her at she felt the urge to run away for some reason.

"That's stupid", the edges of Plato's mouth curved up slightly as he said that. Electra was shocked to find a tear rolling down her cheek. Somehow Plato knew she would cry if he said that.

The dark tabby was so shocked she couldn't say anything comprehensible.

Plato turned and started walking back to the Junkyard calmly. Electra watched as he retreated into the darkness.

Suddenly he halted, half-turned around and whispered, "You're pretty when you cry."

**Oooohhh! Sorry. I'm making Plato seem like a sadist, right? Personally, I like him better like that. Anyway, please review if you're still reading. It really encourages me. **

**Once again, sorry for the VERY late update. Review!**

**__****Note: Rewritten. Minor changes, nothing too big.**  



	4. Kitten Compound Arc 4

**A/N: I'm attempting to update faster. I have to break this bad habit of waiting! Anyway, I've decided that this story will not have chapter titles. Only Arc titles. Story arcs. What are they? It's usually in film, but it's like Parts. Part 1, part 2. etc. This is the end of the first story arc. I realize this might turn out to be a pretty long story...  
**

**Note: I wasn't really clear about the kitten compound and how it's separated from the Junkyard. The kitten compound is just another area of the Junkyard where the kittens are confined until they are old enough. It's just the way they do it in this story.**

**To my reviewers:**

**To PlatoLuvr-08: Oh, I didn't mean for it to be sweet. Ha, oh well. I guess it did sound sweet. Sorry, in this little ficcy, Plato isn't going to be a very nice guy, just so you know. But he'll definitely have a more important role! I promise next chapter, Victoria will come up with some devious plan to get him. I have a little Pounce/Electra hate in here. Hope you enjoy!**

**To AdrenalineRush16: Sorry to confuse you! I've got some of the pairings worked out now, but nothing too definite. I hope this chapter answers a few of your questions and creates a few more. Enjoy!**

**To musicgal3: Haha, thanks for reviewing! Here's my update. Hope you like this one!**

**To Republic-Of-Heaven: Glad you're not confused. Not much Tugger stuffing in this one, but maybe next time! Enjoy!**

**To Neathena: Yeah, Plato is. I hope this chapter explains a little about why Electra hates Pouncival so much. It's mostly just kitten hate. Enjoy!**

**Note: This takes place in England, I think. Or wherever T.S. Eliot meant to place it. I'm an American...I don't know what winter in England is like. So, I made a little up. If you are English, I apologize if I got it wrong and beg for weather help.**

**__****Note: Rewritten. Sorry about the inconvenience.**  


* * *

Electra went over what had happened with Plato over and over again in her head, but the more she thought about it, the less it made sense. Had he been teasing her the whole time? Or had he been dead serious? It didn't matter anyway.

Toms didn't hold much appeal to her…yet. The yet part was always added in by someone. It was usually Etcetera or her mother who said it.

Now that she thought about, maybe she did like a certain dark, brooding tom. Maybe…no, she definitely liked him.

_

* * *

1 month later_

Now that Electra thought about it, she was extremely talented at keeping secrets, well at least for an 11-year old. She hadn't told anyone about her crush.

Plato was a dark and independent figure. Not for the first time, Electra wondered why she liked him at all. What was it about him? She couldn't lay a claw on the matter.

She was broken out of her thoughts as the Rum Tum Tugger came around. The Maine Coon looked at her and said, "Hey, 'Lectra."

"Hey", Electra swallowed meekly. What was he doing in the Kitten Compound? Tugger laughed and asked, "You seen Bomba around?"

"No, this is the kitten compound", Electra tried to make it sound less insulting. The Maine Coon didn't' take offense though, he merely shrugged and whispered, "You never know."

Then he patted her head and left.

_

* * *

2 months later_

The Fantastic Four were together after playing a game of tag and lay panting on the ground. Victoria weakly raised her head and gasped, "I heard that…when we turn…12…years old, we'll…be allowed out of…here."

"Like out of the kitten compound?" Jemima whispered quietly. The white queen nodded and said, "Yeah."

"You lie", Etcetera wheezed while trying to point an accusatory paw at her. Victoria shook her head as vigorously as she could and put her paws in the air.

"We'll get to be around Tugger all the time", Etcetera daydreamed off at her own thoughts. Electra just shook her head while chuckling at her friend's naivety.

"Wait!" Realization dawned on Electra, "Does that mean that you'll be leaving next month?"

That got everyone's attention. Jemima sat up straight with an alarmed expression and Etcetera copied her. Victoria flushed and muttered, "Well, Jelly told me that I get a choice."

"A choice?!"

"Once you leave the kitten compound, you're not supposed to return unless you're a caretaker or visiting, but you don't absolutely _have_ to leave at 12. You can wait until you're ready."

Electra asked, "Well, Jemima is the youngest and well…we're friends. We should wait for each other."

"Yeah, remember the pact?" Etcetera urged Victoria with an odd look. The white queen broke out into a smile and laughed, "Oh course, it was _my _idea after all."

As the four laughed, a small voice inside Electra told her that Plato would be turning 12 in a week.

* * *

Victoria had a stricken look on her face as she talked to Etcetera and Electra. Jemima was taking a nap, as Jelly insisted on it. The white queen whispered, "Plato's leaving the compound."

"He is?" Electra tried not to sound too interested, but couldn't keep the disappointment from her voice.

"Will you be okay?" Etcetera asked quietly, knowing her friend would need a hug after this. Victoria nodded her head carefully and broke into a huge grin.

"He's just some tom", the Victoria they knew was back, "I'd rather be with my friends anyway!"

Etcetera laughed and hugged Victoria tightly as Electra watched from the side. The dark tabby didn't like to be touched and her friends understood that, not why, just that she didn't like it.

Victoria turned to Electra anyway, with arms wide open. The friendly glint in the white queen's eyes was warming enough for Electra to consider hugging her, but in the end she just shook her head.

"Aw, come on", Victoria coaxed and laughed, but tried no further as Electra gave a firmer shake of her head. The white queen smiled anyway.

* * *

An hour later, Electra saw Plato sitting by the "Lonely Pond", and got a sort of odd feeling. It was obvious that Plato had noticed her, but he wasn't saying anything. So the dark tabby took it upon herself to say something.

"Are you really leaving?" The words were out before she could think of something else. Now she sounded like a lovesick fool. Stupid mouth, she thought irritably.

This made Plato turn around to her with half-shut eyes. It was always that expression and if Electra hadn't known better, she would've thought he was trying to look sleepy/sexy at the same time.

"Why do you care?" The words came from Plato's mouth quickly and cut her to the bone. The steely tone he had was scary.

Electra shrugged trying to seem indifferent, "Just making sure."

"Whatever", the brooding tom didn't care at all. Then he got up and left but not before saying, "Damn, you're annoying."

The dark tabby's eyes went wide as she watched him really leave the kitten compound. That…that had been so mean! Stupid Plato.

* * *

As Plato left Electra behind at the pond, he regretted not being able to see her expression. If he turned around, she'd know he was expecting a reaction or something. Plato could imagine what her face looked like right now. The first thing would be shock, then hurt, briefly confusion and last would be anger. Just imagining it was satisfying enough. He fed off of others emotions for some reason. It felt so right and yet so wrong at the same time.

Maybe after she turned 12 he'd get a chance to see her again. But only maybe. He didn't really care, did he? Plato stopped and thought for a second. No, he didn't care.

_

* * *

1 month later_

Even though Electra had sworn not to miss Plato and hate him for the rest of her natural life, she still yearned for him. It was too hard. Why couldn't Pouncival be the one who was the oldest? Stupid Pouncival.

As if the Everlasting Cat heard her, moments later Pouncival bounded towards Electra and tackled her. That sent them both flying.

After recovering Electra sat up straight and yelled, "Watch it!"

"You should've seen your face", Pouncival laughed and pointed at her. The dark tabby exhaled and tried to remain calm. It didn't work and she still felt the immense urge to strangle the menace. She sprang onto Pouncival and the two tumbled across the ground until Electra pinned him down successfully.

"Heh", she chuckled but suddenly the world tipped backwards and they had reversed positions. Pouncival laughed and quirked his eyebrows in the, [you-better-give-up-now], way. Electra mentally shook herself. No way was she losing to this prat.

Suddenly, someone from the sides cleared his throat and Electra turned to see Admetus standing there, a little uncomfortable.

"Sorry didn't realize you guys were having a moment, there", Admetus grinned as Pouncival blinked once, realizing how odd they looked and leapt away from Electra.

"Shut-up", Pouncival growled, but his face was red. The look on his face was worth the embarrassment, Electra decided.

The dark tabby decided that saying anything would only make her look stupid so she wisely kept silent for the moment. Admetus shrugged, "It's not my fault, Pouncival, you're just so easy to tease!"

"Shut-up! As if I would like this loser", Pouncival gestured towards Electra with a look of pure disdain. The dark tabby was a little hurt, but it was Pouncival. She knew how to deal with him.

"That's not what really matters right now. What really matters right now is that my head hurts from the blabbering you two call talk. I'm leaving. By the way, the color of your face really suits you, Pouncival."

With that she left and Admetus couldn't help but feel a grudging respect for her. Not many Jellicles had the power to make Pouncival speechless, but she had done just that.

_

* * *

3 months later_

The remaining four tom kittens, Admetus, Pouncival, Tumblebrutus and Quaxo weren't as good friends as the Fantastic Four, but managed. They often paired into groups of two. Admetus and Pouncival were a duo and Tumblebrutus and Quaxo were the other pair. Admetus and Pouncival were mischievous and always up to no good. They proudly proclaimed themselves, "Double Trouble". Tumblebrutus and Quaxo scoffed at the name, but they found themselves too plain to have a cool nickname.

Tumblebrutus and Pouncival got into arguments so often that Quaxo had learned to like Admetus. After all, the two were stuck together when Tumble and Pounce were wrestling.

Quaxo knew a lot more than he should have. Upon being accepted into the Junkyard, Old Deuteronomy told him to conceal his magic powers. The black and white tuxedo tom could read minds and create illusions that were real magic. It wasn't petty tricks, it was all real. But power causes fear.

Being able to read minds wasn't always ideal as he had found out the hard way. Quaxo knew that Admetus liked Jemima and that Tumblebrutus thought that Pouncival was a real idiot at times. He knew that Pouncival secretly liked both Victoria and Electra. He knew that Plato was creepy and not to be approached. He knew that Electra missed Plato as much as Victoria did. He knew that Jenny was having trouble with Skimble. He knew all of that.

Quaxo felt like a freak for knowing it all.

* * *

Electra entered her family's den and saw her mom sitting in the corner sobbing. The dark tabby's eyes widened and she rushed over to Jenny frantically.

"What's wrong, Mom?" Electra didn't know what to do. Jenny was still crying and could not be consoled. Her mother waved her away and she obeyed silently. What was wrong?

_

* * *

1 month later_

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Electra and Victoria screamed loudly. Etcetera cheered and said, "Thanks!"

Jemima, ever quiet, just whispered, "Happy Birthday."

Only Electra and Victoria were true Junkyard Cats, the rest were alley cats. They had been abandoned at a young age and brought to the Kitten Compound. Birthdays were always assumed for the allet cats. Etcetera's birthday was approximate, but they still celebrated.

The part was in the middle of the kitten compound and even Quaxo and Tumblebrutus had been invited to the small party. Of course "Double Trouble" had been left out. It would have been an invitation for disaster.

"You won't leave, right?" Jemima asked, a little worried. Etcetera shook her head vigorously.

"No way!" Etcetera grinned happily, "You're my friends, I wouldn't leave you for the world."

For some reason Electra thought of Plato at those words. Stupid Plato! She had to forget about him. It had been 5 months already. It should've been enough time for her to distance herself, but evidently her brain didn't want to cooperate.

Quaxo listened to all Electra's thoughts buzzing around in her mind and he felt an inkling of pity for the dark tabby. Plato didn't deserve Electra or Victoria. Plato's mind had been horrifying, the tom was a monster, that much was obvious.

_

* * *

3 months later_

"Thank the Everlasting Cat", Electra sighed as she woke up. Jemima, who had stayed the night, asked, "For what?"

"He's leaving today", Electra smothered her squeal of excitement. Then she looked at the ceiling of the den and noticed a few cracks. What if the cracks opened a little more and the roof collapsed? That would be interesting…horrifying, but interesting.

"Who?" Jemima's sweet voice brought her back to reality. The dark tabby laughed, "Who else? Pouncival."

Jemima knew that Electra didn't like Pouncival at all, but didn't know what to make of her words. Then the dark tabby remembered, "Do you still like him?"

"I don't think so", the calico answered and suddenly grinned, "Poor Admetus."

Jemima didn't like Admetus after he had knocked her off a boulder and onto the ground. Usually, the calico wasn't the type to hold a grudge, but she made an exception in Admetus.

Electra gave a matching grin, "Yeah, poor wittle Admetus."

"We should go cheer him up", Jemima suggested. _Translation: Let's go make him miserable._

"I'm in!"

_

* * *

1 month later_

Tumblebrutus and Quaxo had decided to stay, but Admetus left as soon as he could. Jemima and Electra's torments were something he wanted to get away from. The kitten compound got really quiet after "Double Trouble" had left. Needless to say, Jenny and Jelly were both quite pleased.

* * *

Skimbleshanks disappeared for long intervals at a time and returned every so often, only to vanish a few days later with nothing but a note. It was his work that was dragging him down, but Jenny wished it wasn't so. Hadn't he once told her that family was everything? Jenny became increasingly distracted and spent the majority of the time with Jelly.

Life didn't feel hectic to Electra, but she missed her dad a lot.

* * *

The Fantastic Four were still together although Victoria threatened to leave sometimes when she was throwing a fit. Etcetera remembered something quickly and sat up.

"Hey, where are Jenny and Jelly, today?"

"At the Jellicle Ball", Electra's dry response came quickly. Victoria rolled her eyes. Of course Electra would know, she was such a know it all.

"The what?" Etcetera obviously hadn't been paying much attention for the 12 years of her life.

"Oh it's nothing, just the _most important event_ of the year", Electra muttered sarcastically. Etcetera laughed and shrugged.

"Oh."

"Sounds fun", Jemima volunteered as Victoria examined the patterns on the ground.

"Isn't it your birthday next month?" Victoria asked, hurriedly changing the subject. Electra nodded as Etcetera squealed happily.

"When's your birthday again, Jemima?" The hyper kitten asked.

"In two months", the calico answered quietly. Victoria nodded slowly and wondered what the rest of the Junkyard was like.

"We'll get to see Tugger soon!"

"Etcetera!" Victoria, Electra and Jemima sighed. Predictably, the four of them burst out laughing.

_

* * *

1 month later_

After Electra's birthday party, the dark tabby sat in her den as Jenny licked her face.

"Where's Dad?"

Jenny hesitated for a moment before answering, "Working. He's always busy."

"Why isn't he…here?" Electra asked. It was her twelfth birthday. It was an important date, wasn't it?

"I'm sure he couldn't get out of work", Jenny answered, wondering why her husband hadn't returned yet. When he got home, she was going to be very angry if he didn't have an excuse.

* * *

It ended up he returned that very night with a small present. His excuse was the same. Work.

_

* * *

1 month later_

It was December and the kitten compound had just began to have a little snow. It was an odd year. Jenny and Jelly smiled at Jemima.

"So, Jemima, being the youngest kitten of your year means you're the last to have the privilege of leaving", Jenny winked as the calico blushed.

"It seems that you have a nice set of friends", Jelly added, nodding towards the rest of the Fantastic Four, Tumblebrutus and Quaxo.

Jemima nodded, "I know. They're the best."

"Are you guys going to leave then?" Jelly asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

Electra laughed, "It's almost like you want us to leave as soon as possible!"

"Well the younger kittens need the room", Jenny winked at her daughter. Victoria laughed along with the older queen.

"It's not like we wanted to stay anyway", Electra huffed.

"I want to see Tugger!" Etcetera shouted happily at being able to leave the kitten compound.

Everyone laughed.

* * *

"Yes, we finally get to leave this horribly boring place!" Victoria punched the air wildly. Quaxo looked at the white queen for a second and was unsurprised to find that her thoughts were on Plato. What was it about that tom?!?!

Etcetera danced around with Jemima as Tumblebrutus watched them with a small smile. Electra was too shocked. They were finally leaving the kitten compound. Their home for so many years. It was sort of sad.

Tumblebrutus could guess what Electra was thinking without Quaxo's help and went up to her.

"Kind of sad, huh?"

Electra was surprised, she hadn't even noticed that he had sneaked up on her. Electra supposed that was the idea, but whatever.

"I just can't believe it", the dark tabby shrugged, "It doesn't seem real at all."

"Yeah, but aren't you kind of excited?" Tumblebrutus smiled warmly and for the first time, Electra noticed him for real. All the times before he had just been a great friend and now, well, now he was really cute.

"Yeah." It came out breathy.

Tumblebrutus flashed his teeth and whispered, "I can't wait."

"Yeah, neither can I", Electra murmured. It felt like a dream, the way she had just suddenly, magically, forgotten about Plato. Tumble leaned a little closer.

"I really like you, Electra", he whispered and as if realizing he had said his thoughts aloud, turned away to hide his embarrassment.

The dark tabby was a little surprised, but smiled in return, "I do, too."

"I mean, I like you too, not I really like myself", Electra said and she felt like a blabbering idiot. Tumble laughed and said, "It's okay, I understand."

"Yeah."

Out of nowhere, Quaxo called, "Tumble!"

"Sorry", Tumble grinned, "I gotta go."

"Yeah", Electra nodded, totally aware of how stupid she sounded. Her three best friends caught up to her.

"What did he want?" Victoria asked.

"Nothing", Electra sighed and then motioned, "Let's go."

"Yes!"

* * *

Electra let her friends go first and leave without her. She wanted to say goodbye to the kitten compound and the "Lonely Pond". She walked towards the pond, thinking of Plato and of Tumble. Usually no one was at the pond, but this time there was a younger kitten there. He sat with vacant eyes just looking down into the water.

"Hey there", Electra attempted casually. The kitten turned in alarm and almost slipped into the pool. The dark tabby caught him by the paw and pulled him away.

"Thanks", the kitten squeaked. Wow, Electra thought, he's adorable.

"Yeah", she answered, "All alone?"

"I guess."

"What's your name?" She decided to be friendly. After all, his eyes were _huge_. As huge as Jemima's. They were too cute to be denied anything.

"Dusk", he answered and Electra had to agree that it was a fitting name. The kitten had grey and black dusty fur with bright brown eyes.

"Electra", she said. He nodded in response as she continued, "How old are you?"

"9 years and 7 months", Dusk said proudly. Electra smiled.

"Cute", the dark tabby looked into her "Lonely Pond", and said, "This used to be one of my favorite haunts."

Dusk nodded sadly and waited. Electra sighed, "Keep it tidy, okay?"

"Sure thing, Electra", Dusk smiled.

* * *

As Electra pushed the gates barring the kitten compound from the Junkyard, she looked back once more and whispered, "Goodbye memories. Goodbye kitten compound. Goodbye regrets."

Then the gates were half-open and she walked out.

"Goodbye Halcyon days."

**Ok, so I totally stole that last line, but it seemed like something Electra might say. This goes a little off formula, but I'm laying down the foundation still. Review please? They always help! Thanks in advance!**

**I just remembered how stupid I am. Since I made my story have a kitten compound, the Junkyard is going to be fed little kittens with no names! After all, it seemed that Jemima is the youngest in the play/musical. There probably is a future after her.  
**

**I'm gonna have a few OCs even though I personally hate them. I can never keep track. Can anyone help me with coming up with OCs?**

**Thanks again!**

**__****Note: Rewritten. Minor changes made, nothing worth mentioning.**  



	5. Junkyard Arc 1

**A/N: I always mean to put alot in my author notes, but I always end up forgetting at least one thing. I've just forgotten too, oh well. **

**I've decided on the pairings, and I'm not sure everyone will like the pairings. Well, you can't please everyone. I need a suggestion for how old Tugger and the others should be. I'm going to put them about 4 years older than Electra...sound okay?  
**

**To my reviewers:**

**To Adrenaline16: I need the OCs because there must be younger kittens after Jemima in the Jellicle tribe...the kitten compound probably doesn't sit empty all the time. I take it that you've been in the same situation as Electra, that's sad. I'm sorry. Actually the one female character who I'm not sure is going to end up with is Electra, so we'll both find out. Another quick one. Enjoy!**

**To xx-jeni-xx: Hope you like the pairings. Thanks for reviewing! Enjoy this chapter!**

**To DNDK 38: Thanks for reading and reviewing. I don't know if you are this far yet, but I guess I'll see. Enjoy!**

**To musicgal3: Thanks! I kinda like Quaxo, but it seems most people like him alot! Another fast update. Hope you like this one.**

**Note: I've decided that Jellicle Balls happen once a year and on October 27th each time. Becoming a full fledged queen will be explained in a later chapter. Oh and Marc is an OC. Don't go, "Who the heck is Marc?" You'll see...in about two seconds.**

**__****Note: Rewritten. Almost done rewriting.**  


**Junkyard Arc  
**

* * *

Marc, the Jellicle Protector, stood up and had all the Jellicles gather around the Seat. (The Seat is the place where Old Deuteronomy always sits.) Since the Jellicle Leader was always in his own den except for the day of the Jellicle Ball, Marc sat down.

"Welcome, new kittens. Since there are six of you, we're having a little celebration. You're also quite lucky, most of the Jellicles are here today", Marc smiled warmly. The Jellicle Protector looked about 50, but was still well-built. He had soft white fur with black and yellow stripes.

"Why don't you all introduce yourselves", he suggested to the older Jellicles. When no one volunteered, Marc pointed randomly into the crowd.

"You first."

A tall black and white striped tom went forward and bowed to the younger kittens respectfully. They bowed back. He smiled and said, "I'm Munkustrap, Old Deuteronomy's son."

"Nice to meet you", Jemima giggled. Munkustrap was her sister's boyfriend after all. Demeter had confided to her younger sister that she wanted to become mates with him.

After that, the rest of the Jellicles became friendlier. Electra's head spun as she tried to remember each Jellicle's name and appearance.

They met Alonzo and Cassandra, who looked like a couple, if not mates. Alonzo had been a tall, lean, black and white cat with a nonchalant attitude. Cassandra was matching Alonzo in the way that she was as tall and lean as he was. She had dark brown fur and seemed to be an Abyssinian. The maybe-Abyssinian had been a little cold.

Then Demeter, who Electra recognized, came and teased her sister about finally growing up. A beautiful red queen was standing beside Demeter and introduced herself as Bombalurina. Etcetera was a little in awe.

They met two matching orange, black and brown calico cats named Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. Another pair of twins named Coricopat and Tantomile stepped forward. The moment that they had met, Tantomile smiled and reached out towards Quaxo. She touched her paw to his forehead and smiled. It had been odd.

Last but not least, the Rum Tum Tugger sauntered over and petted them on the head. They all squealed in delight as Demeter rolled her eyes.

"They seem to like Tugger almost as much as you do", Demeter looked at her best friend.

Bomba scoffed, "I don't squeal like that."

"That's only because you don't know how to squeal", Pouncival added cheekily. The red queen smiled and pushed him away in a flirty manner. Demeter rolled her eyes once more. Jemima was surprised that her sister's eyes didn't permanently stay in that position since she rolled her eyes almost constantly.

* * *

Electra tried to stop herself, but she found herself searching for Plato. As if reading her mind (well he actually did), Quaxo stepped forward and said, "He's not in the crowd."

Electra turned, slightly surprised, "Huh?"

Quaxo always kept his head down and never made eye contact with anyone so his words were slightly muffled. The tuxedo tom tried again, "He's doesn't like large crowds."

"T-thanks", Electra managed. How did Quaxo know what she was thinking?

Quaxo mentally berated himself for almost giving his curse away.

* * *

Tugger scratched Etcetera behind the ear and asked, "Missed me?"

"Yes", Etcetera jumped excitedly as the Maine Coon chuckled. Victoria took her paw and scraped at his calf mewing gently. Jemima shook her head and smiled happily. Electra seemed a little distracted, but the moment Tugger reached out and patted her on the head, he had her full attention. That was what being Tugger was all about.

* * *

"Hey, loser", Pouncival said as he saw Electra, "Long time no see."

"Not long enough for me", the dark tabby returned and glared at both Pouncival and Admetus. Pouncival laughed, "Thank the Everlasting Cat, your mouth is still fully functional."

"It almost sounds like you've missed me", Electra smirked and almost laughed as he raised one eyebrow. Admetus rolled his eyes and said, "Look if you guys want to be alone, I'll understand."

"Admetus, honey, how have you been?" Electra's words dripped with sarcasm. No doubt, Admetus was flashing back to Jemima and her pushing him into "Lonely Pond".

"Oh, just great", the tom muttered in a low voice. Pouncival sighed, "Man, Admetus, you're pathetic."

"Pathetic?!? I'm not the one who's so blindly in love that he-"

"Shut your trap!"

"Make me!"

"Yeah, I will", Pouncival roared and knocked Admetus backwards. The two tumbled away leaving Electra behind, more than a little amused.

* * *

Finally, Electra got a moment alone and she had found out that there was a pond in the Junkyard too. It was night and the crescent moon hung above her head. As Electra neared the pond, she saw Jemima sitting on top of the T.S.E.1 trunk looking at the moon with a sleepy expression.

The dark tabby considered going over and talking, but Jemima probably wanted to be alone. Electra reached the pond at looked into the dark murky-looking water. She could see the moon's reflection on the water's surface. This pond was about two times the size of "Lonely Pond". Maybe it was an improvement. She dubbed the pond, "Moon Pond".

Electra sensed someone behind her and turned around. For the first time in many months she was face to face with Plato, the tom who haunted her dreams. Plato looked a little thinner and his face had become a little gaunt. It just made him look…dare she think it?...handsomer.

"Hey", Electra forced the words out of her throat and watched Plato's face for any sort of reaction. He didn't do anything but looked up again with that same sleepy/sexy look. The dark tabby's breath hitched and she didn't know what to say.

The two of them stood there for a long time, Electra looking down and Plato staring at her.

Suddenly, the tom broke into a large grin and said, "I missed you a lot."

Electra looked up in surprise. Those were the last words she expected him to say.

* * *

"Really?" Plato could hear the tinges of hope in her voice. This was too easy.

"Yeah", he said with that fake smile plastered on his face. It was hurting his face. He turned around and said, "See you around, right?"

Without waiting for an answer, he left. He had left her behind at the pond. Again.

* * *

The dark tabby didn't know what to do. Images of Plato and Tumblebrutus floated through her head and she shook her head. Why was she even thinking about Tumble? Plato had just told her that he had missed her!

Without even meaning to, she headed towards the older female kittens den with a huge sloppy grin on her face.

* * *

Plato walked back towards the older male kitten's den, deep in thought. His brow was knitted as he walked.

_You didn't say that to see her smile. You said it so that she'd be happy and then you could crush her heart. _Plato tried convincing himself. But the smile on her face kept coming back into his head.

"Damn it!"

"Plato, is that you?", Tumblebrutus rubbed his eyes looking out of the den. Plato looked at his "friend".

"Yeah, sorry. I'm coming", Plato walked towards the den faster, all the while cursing Electra for making him feel so weak.

_

* * *

January 1__st_

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Marc shouted to the Jellicles. Everyone cheered excitedly.

Marc waited for the noise to die down before he continued, "I'm sure you all are eager to get on with the program, so let me just say something."

"Hurry up!" Alonzo called out, eliciting laughs from the rest of the Jellicles.

Marc went cross-eyed to show his annoyance but continued anyway, "No matter what happens, stay happy!"

Electra cheered as Alonzo shouted at the Jellicle Protector, "That's what you took all the time to say?"

"Why you little", Marc pretended to be angry, then proceeded to bound off the Seat and onto Alonzo. Everyone laughed, even Alonzo and Marc.

From the corner of her eye, Electra spied Plato talking to Tumblebrutus in a sulky manner. But then he caught her eye and gave a blinding smile.

Hurriedly, the dark tabby turned, a dark blush across her face. Just then, Victoria tackled her.

"Hey, why's your face red?" The white queen looked at the dark tabby and then twisted her head to see who might have caused the embarrassment.

Jemima was next to Victoria, examining Electra closely. Then she whispered, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, as soon as Victoria stops choking me", she gasped. Victoria laughed and apologized lightheartedly.

_

* * *

January 5__th_

While Electra and Etcetera were playing around, doing nothing in particular, Pouncival burst into the den and dragged Electra out, despite her protests. Etcetera gathered that Pouncival wanted to tease her or something.

"What is it?" Electra asked as Pouncival dragged her away from all living souls. Suddenly the dark tabby gasped, "Are you trying to kill me?"

Pouncival ignored her until they reached "Moon Pond", where no one could hear their conversation…or where no one would hear her screams of agony.

"Shut-up, because this is the one time I'm ever going to ask you for help", Pouncival rapped out and if he hadn't looked so serious, Electra would've been sure it was a joke.

She nodded, "Sure thing."

"Tomorrow is Bomba's birthday", Pouncival started.

Electra cut him off quickly, "She's like a million years older than you!"

"Not a million!"

"Fine, about 4 or 5, right?"

"So?"

"She'll never look at you", Electra sighed, but Pouncival shook his head quickly.

"I just want to get her a good present, so tell me, okay?"

"Well, I'll try to help, as long as you promise not to bother me anymore", Electra smirked and Pouncival nodded in agreement.

"You promise?"

"Yeah, whatever."

"No, not, 'Yeah, whatever', you gotta promise", the dark tabby pretended to examine her claws.

"Okay, I promise I won't bother you anymore", Pouncival said weakly.

"Get her a collar", Electra suggested, remembering how Bombalurina had complained about her collar being so old.

"Hm, okay."

"She'll be happy."

"Thanks, Electra", Pouncival whispered and left. It felt odd, they hadn't even physically harmed each other. Unusual.

_

* * *

January 7__th_

"She really liked the collar", Pouncival admitted to Electra several days later. The dark tabby smiled and said, "Did she give you a kiss?"

"No."

"Ha!"

_

* * *

January 18__th_

The Fantastic Four had followed Tugger around until they were too tired to follow anymore and sat down near "Moon Pond".

Victoria flopped down and asked, "It's almost Plato's birthday. Should I give him a present or not?

"You definitely should! He always looks so down", Etcetera smiled and hopped around. She wasn't tired at all.

Jemima sighed, "It's your choice, Vicky."

Electra just sat there wondering whether _she_ should give Plato something. The dark tabby said, "He doesn't seem like the type of tom who likes presents."

"How would you know?" The white queen muttered scornfully.

Electra wisely bit her tongue before she said something she would regret.

_

* * *

January 27__th_

It was Plato's birthday and Electra wanted to avoid him for some reason. The idea seemed good, but then she realized how hard it was and stayed in the den all day.

Finally it was dark and safe to leave the den. All the others were asleep and did not look "wakeable". Then Electra noticed, as she was creeping out, that Jemima was nowhere to be found.

As Electra traveled towards "Moon Pond", she saw the calico sitting on the T.S.E.1 trunk gazing at the moon and stars again. The dark tabby this time went towards her friend.

"Can't sleep?"

If Jemima was surprised, she didn't show it all. The calico shook her head.

"Just wanted to look at the moon?"

"Yeah, I guess."

As if it were possible, Jemima talked less than Plato. Electra supposed she was shy, if anything.

"It's odd, really."

"Huh?" Electra asked.

"The moon is and object of mystery and beauty", Jemima sighed, "I want to be just like her."

That was pretty impressive for the calico, Electra had to admit.

The dark tabby shrugged, "You are like it. You're just as beautiful."

"Thanks", Jemima smiled.

For a second the two of them stared at the moon together just waiting for something.

"You like Plato", Jemima said. It hadn't been a question, she had flatly stated it as if she was sure it was true. The worst part, was that it _was _true.

"Yeah", Electra admitted and realized this was the first time she'd confessed it to anyone. The calico nodded and didn't say anything more.

It was nice. Then Electra awkwardly said, "I'm going to Moon Pond, do you want to come?"

"Moon Pond?"

"Oh, the pond over there." Electra pointed towards the general direction.

"That's okay, I'm fine here. Thanks."

* * *

Electra left for "Moon Pond", anticipating the calm that would wash over her as she looked into the waters.

Electra drank some water from the pond, gargled it and spit it back in. She didn't care that it might be dirty. It was a ritual for her. When she drank the water and gargled it, it was like she was putting all her problems into the water and spitting them out.

For a few moments she had no problems. She didn't like Plato and she wasn't worried about hurting Victoria. She wasn't worried about her mom's frequent sobfests. She didn't care about anything. Then it was all back. Whatever, that was life.

"That really doesn't seem sanitary", a voice behind her said. It was him, again.

"Are you stalking me?" Electra kept her voice down just so he couldn't see how much he affected her.

Then Plato sighed, "Would you be surprised?"

"Yes", Electra reluctantly said. The conversation was a downward spiral.

"I don't like presents", Plato said and even though Electra wasn't looking at him, she knew he wasn't laughing.

"That's why I didn't get you one", Electra huffed, she really didn't want to talk to him anymore. Victoria was her friend and had liked Plato for a really long time.

"Plato, I don't like you anymore." Now, maybe he'd leave her alone.

"We both know you're lying", Plato's voice was even, there was no doubt in his tone. Stupid Plato. Why did he have to know?

"Rephrase: Plato, I can't like you anymore."

"Okay."

Damn, he was so calm about it. Didn't anything faze him?

She heard him walk away.

Why was it that he was always the one to leave her?

_

* * *

February 11__th_

It was Victoria's birthday and she had a small party in celebration. After the party she disappeared to Everlasting Cat knows where.

An hour later she returned to the den and was clearly very, very excited by something. Electra would have preferred for her to burst, but Etcetera wasn't as evil.

"What is it!?!"

Victoria burst, "Plato asked me out!"

Jemima and Electra quickly gathered around the white queen as she gave all the details. Apparently, he had said happy birthday and asked for a date.

"Then, just before we left, he kissed me on the cheek!"

Electra sat there forcing a happy smile for her friend. Etcetera squealed, "Which one?"

"The right one!"

"Not the wrong one?" Electra teased as Jemima giggled along. The white queen pouted.

"You're just jealous."

It _was_ true.

_

* * *

February 15__th_

It was official. Plato and Victoria had become a couple. Electra didn't have much to say.

Not for the first time in her life, she wished that she was someone else. Then she could just float away.

**I realize that I like ending chapters with something sad or surprising. Kind of a habit. Anyway, review please? I was a little disappointed that last chapter only had 3 reviews, but whatever. This story is kind of interesting to write.**

**REVIEW please? Do you know how much I love you guys? This is like my 2nd or 3rd longest story and its only 5 chapters in! Please review?**

**_Note: Rewritten. Small changes and corrections made._  
**


	6. Junkyard Arc 2

**A/N: The next chapter is here. The last chapter in the Junkyard Arc. Wow, this is going fast.**

**To my reviewers:**

**To AdrenalineRush16: Thanks for reviewing! I think that's the longest review I've ever gotten. Not that I'm complaining! You're right about the review thing, I just like to see how many readers actually give feedback, it's surprising. Enjoy!**

**To DNDK 38: Well I think it's because Electra know that Etcetera can't keep a secret and Victoria is going out with Plato. You don't really tell your friend that you like their boyfriend... Thanks for reviewing! Hope you like this chapter.**

**To xXGuffelumpaloompaXx: Don't worry, I wasn't going to tell you anyway. ;] Thanks for reviewing!**

**To musicgal3: Thanks, I know that I always think Stupid something over and over. Electra has a little bit of me inside of her. Thanks again! Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Two words: I wish.**

**Note: Filled to the brim with angst.**

**__****Note: Rewritten. Last chapter to rewrite this time around.**  


_

* * *

February 21__st_

Ever since Victoria and Plato had started going out, there was a dull ache inside Electra's chest. She desperately wanted something to fill that emptiness that she felt. Distractions were few, but blissful. How could she feel so sad and try to be so happy for someone else?

"I've never been happier", Victoria declared and beamed at her three best friends. Etcetera tilted her head back and forth. The white queen continued, "Today is Spill Day."

"Spill Day, what's that?" Etcetera could tell it was something exciting.

"We spill all our secrets."

Electra swallowed the lump forming in her throat and prayed that Etcetera would say no.

"Yeah!"

The Everlasting Cat had just gone and deserted her. _If I have a fairy godmother somewhere out there, right now is a great time to reveal yourself_, Electra thought fervently.

"Jemima, you first!" Etcetera had been dying to know the calico's crush for ages now.

"Um…"

"Who do you like?" The white queen prodded Jemima in the side.

"N-no one", Jemima sputtered while Etcetera's face fell into a pout.

"You stuttered! You're lying", Victoria crowed triumphantly and nudged the calico again. Jemima covered her face was her paws and tried to duck away. No luck. Etcetera pounced on her.

"Come on! It's Spill Day!"

Electra was about to help Jemima out when the calico squeaked something.

"Sorry, repeat that again?"

It took a few shakes from Etcetera to get another sound out of Jemima.

"A-Alonzo", Jemima finally managed. Electra's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Even Victoria was properly astonished.

"Everlasting Cat", Etcetera whispered as Jemima blushed crimson.

Victoria cleared her throat, "Isn't he a little too old for you?"

The calico cleared her throat, "I guess."

Suddenly, with no warning at all, Victoria jumped at Electra, who squealed loudly.

"Who do _you_ like?"

All eyes were on her. Jemima had turned slowly and with a sad expression on her face. Electra gulped and said, "No one."

"Come on! It's obvious you like someone, who is it?" Etcetera probed for more information.

"Tumble!" Electra shouted quickly.

Jemima closed her eyes briefly, sighed and then looked away gently shaking her head. Victoria squealed, "I'll set you up with him!"

"No, wait!"

Too late, Etcetera and Victoria had gone towards wherever Tumble was.

Jemima looked at the dark tabby and asked, "That may have been the wrong thing to say."

"Should I have told the truth?"

"Up to you", the calico shrugged and then smiled, "Look, Tumble's coming."

Electra swirled around and yes, there was the tom himself. Stupid mouth.

* * *

Victoria and Etcetera had pushed Electra and Tumble into a small clearing beyond "Moon Pond". It was a sort of plain with golden grass and immediately Electra dubbed it, "Elysian Fields".

"Um…", Tumble started awkwardly, not knowing what to say. The dark tabby said, "You want to go out?"

Tumblebrutus' eyes widened until he started to process what Electra had said.

"Sure."

There, she'd done it. Her first step away from Plato.

_

* * *

February 23__rd_

Electra quickly learned that having a boyfriend was like having an additional leg. Tumblebrutus had basically attached and devoted himself to the dark tabby and followed her around like a lost puppy.

"Um, I'm going to bed", Electra said, not really sure what to say.

Tumblebrutus smiled and while he was very cute, Electra knew this wasn't what she wanted. He was like a protector, a guardian, an older brother or something. What did she want? Preferably a dark, brooding kind of tom that wasn't sensitive and caring. Stupid brain!

"Goodnight", the brown and white tabby slowly leaned towards Electra as if he was going to kiss her. Then she realized that was what he meant to do.

The dark tabby couldn't move as Tumble moved closer leaning down. Suddenly the brown patch of fur on his right eye disappeared and his features began to morph until it was someone different. Electra watched Plato leaning down about to kiss her. Just as suddenly, Plato morphed back into Tumble.

"Goodnight!" Electra said quickly and darted away into the den.

What had happened? _Tumble was about to kiss you and then you somehow got Plato and Tumble mixed up!_ Electra's thoughts weren't very well organized.

Stupid Plato! Stupid Tumble!

Stupid Electra…

_

* * *

February 25__th_

Electra apologized to Tumble and told him that she just wasn't ready. Lucky for her, Tumble happened to be the understanding type of tom.

Life seemed to be at an all-time low for her. Where was the Everlasting Cat when she needed him/her?

_

* * *

March 3__rd_

Cassandra ran away from Alonzo as fast as she could. Jemima and Electra watched the two shoot past them quickly. The two kittens exchanged glances before nodding and chasing after the pair.

They arrived at the "Elysian Fields", where Alonzo was holding onto Cassandra's paw. Jemima and Electra ducked away behind the lone tree standing in the clearing.

"Cass, I'm sorry, you know I didn't mean it", the black and white tom's voice sounded soothing.

Both Jemima and Electra peeked out carefully.

The Abyssinian huffed and turned away from Alonzo. She scoffed, "That's what you said about Demeter!"

"Baby, you know that no one compares to you", the black and white tom attempted again. Electra had to applaud him for looking regretful. Then she remembered Jemima liked that tom.

"We should be going", Electra whispered to the calico.

"It's okay", Jemima whispered back, looking a little sad as Cassandra finally accepted Alonzo's apology and they made up. Or, more accurately, they made out.

"Come on", Electra waved Jemima and the two walked back to the Junkyard.

_

* * *

March 8__th_

Coricopat watched his sleeping twin, knowing what she was worried about, as she stirred in her sleep.

_Macavity_, Coricopat thought angrily, _You'll pay for hurting her._

The ginger cat had been best friends with Tantomile when they had been younger. Macavity had cared for her as a confident and tricked Tantomile into leaving with him. Coricopat had stopped them angrily and the ginger cat had claimed that Coricopat had been jealous because he loved his sister in the "wrong" way.

_Stop thinking about that!_

"Cori?"

The mystical tom immediately spun around to see if his twin was alright. Coricopat whispered, "Yes?"

"I'm glad you're here with me."

That got a smile from him.

"Me too."

_

* * *

March 29__th_

Electra rolled her eyes as Pouncival came strutting into view. Luckily, Tumble was busy with Munkustrap doing something or another.

"Hey, puny one", Pouncival called to her. The dark tabby rolled her eyes yet again.

"Must you boost your ego by pretending to be some warlord?"

"It's the only way I get your attention", the playful tom stuck out his tongue.

Electra groaned, "You promised that you'd stop bothering me. Is the Oh-Great Warlord going back on his word? That's not very honorable."

"Well, you know me. My reputation would be ruined if I was nice to a puny kitten, especially a female. They'd say that I'm going soft", Pouncival returned, with a silly grin.

"Now, I understand that your male pride requires you to talk inappropriately about the fairer gender, but you don't have to make it so personal."

Pouncival shrugged, going along with her hurt act, "I apologize for my hasty reply and offer my condolences to _your _hurt pride."

"Oh puh-lease, as if", Electra scoffed at Pouncival's attempt to be a gentleman.

"Liar", was the only thing she got back. The dark tabby adopted a hurt look.

"I would never lie to the Oh-so-great Warlord."

"Pfft, spare me", Pouncival pretended to stab himself dead. Suddenly the two of them burst out laughing.

"Do I really sound like a warlord?"

"No, you sound like an idiot", Electra smirked at his eye roll.

"You've been rubbing off on me, what can I say?" Pouncival raised his eyebrows indicating that the challenge had just begun.

"Tell me something, what is it that tom's do all day? Jump around yelling stupid remarks as they try and kill their friends? I suppose that's your definition of intelligent."

"Actually that's my definition of fun, something you wouldn't understand", Pouncival shrugged nonchalantly, "But that's okay. Even though you're boring, I'm sure you can try to comprehend what I'm saying."

"Don't be so full of yourself", Electra said as she walked towards "Moon Pond", "The longer I talk to you, the more brain cells I lose."

"It's not like you had any to began with", Pouncival chased after her and she made a pathetic attempt to dodge, but really only served as going in the opposite direction of where she wanted to go.

"This coming from the brutal, yet not so bright warlord is quite rich", the dark tabby darted quickly out of his reach and raced to the pond. When both arrived they were panting heavily.

"And yet you can't escape me", Pouncival gasped while holding back a chuckle.

"That's only because it would be rude of me to show you how slow you really are", Electra panted out.

"Yeah, sure, seeing as sparing my feelings has been a top concern of yours for years", Pouncival laughed, his energy replenished quickly.

"They have!"

"Please, even your pathetic excuse for a brain can come up with something better than that", Pouncival urged her. She laughed crazily, maybe she had lost her mind.

"I think that you're losing your touch, Pounce", Electra replied while watching him intently for some sort of reaction, "You've insulted my intelligence over and over, is that seriously the only thing you can come up with?"

Pouncival looked at Electra and the way her eyes burned fiercely every time the two were together. He loved the way he felt invincible around her. The two glared at each other fiercely.

Suddenly loud footsteps could be heard as someone thundered down the Junkyard to "Moon Pond".

It was Admetus. _Figures, the one time I have Pouncival trapped and he just comes and ruins it_, Electra idly scratched the dirt as they walked away from each other.

Pouncival thanked the Everlasting Cat for sending Admetus to intercept the argument. If his friend hadn't come, Pouncival might have said something stupid.

"What are you doing here by yourself?" Admetus asked, truly puzzled, since Pouncival hated being alone near water. Pouncival spun around and noticed Electra had disappeared.

_

* * *

April 13__th_

Since Plato had left her at "Moon Pond", Electra hadn't talked to him since. It seemed like both of them were avoiding the other.

Tumble was still attached to her and wouldn't give her some free time. It didn't matter, she was getting used to it.

_

* * *

May 1__st_

The days were passing so quickly it scared Electra a bit. Nothing had changed within the Junkyard, although Marc became quite agitated. Admetus had accidently tripped the alarm and while the sirens went off, the Jellicles had scattered with Marc standing in the center waiting for some sort of danger. Admetus had hurried back and apologized, but Marc confined him to the den for three weeks. Three blissful weeks.

_

* * *

August 16__th_

It was hot. That was the only way to put that very day. It was abnormally hot. It wasn't supposed to be. The Jellicles lay about the Junkyard, too hot to move.

Only Etcetera jumped up and down never stopping.

"You're being boring!"

"Etcetera, how can you not get hot doing that?" Victoria asked with a sleepy tone.

Etcetera shrugged and said, "It's a gift."

"From the devil", Victoria and Electra muttered at the same time.

"Sit down", Jemima said. Etcetera obeyed like a servant would to a master. Jemima always knew how to make Etcetera listen. Victoria and Electra looked at the calico with a thankful expression. Just watching the hyper kitten was enough to make everyone break out into a sweat.

"So, Electra", Victoria managed to look sly albeit a little tired, "How are things with Tumble?"

"I don't know", Electra admitted, they were her friends after all.

Etcetera sat up straight, "What do you mean?"

"He's too nice", the dark tabby sighed as her friends looked at her like an alien.

"Too _nice_?" Victoria was having hearing problems apparently.

"Yeah."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Jemima asked slowly.

"I guess, he's just really clingy."

Silence.

"How's everything with Plato?"

Victoria looked very alive, "Great! He's so charming and-"

"We get it", Etcetera laughed as Victoria lightly slapped her paw. Electra was thankful. The small feeling of relief flitted across her face and it did not go unnoticed by a certain small calico.

_

* * *

September 23__rd_

"Jemima, I heard something…interesting about you", Victoria brought up as the Fantastic Four were lounging about the "Elysian Fields".

"Um…what?"

Etcetera and Electra were both surprised that Jemima was looking a little scared as Victoria shrugged and said, "Something about you and a certain black and white tom."

Etcetera screamed, "Alonzo!?!?!!? You're having an affair with him!?!?!?!"

"Ouch", Electra, Victoria and Jemima rubbed their ears. Suddenly Victoria clapped her paw over the hyper kitten's mouth. The three looked at Jemima expectantly.

"Well, Alonzo…he…I mean…we", Jemima stuttered, "Well, Cassandra hasn't…and…well…"

"Sorry, I really didn't understand that", Victoria said looking at the calico seriously. Jemima blushed.

"Slowly", Electra told her.

"I was by the pond", Jemima said, "He came over and…"

The calico blushed heavily and looked away. Victoria and Etcetera patted her gently to get her to continue.

"We talked and he…kissed me", Jemima's frail voice was cut off by Etcetera's excited shriek. Victoria and Electra gasped. What was Jemima getting into?

"He kissed you?" Victoria's voice rose several octaves, "Did you ask him to do that?"

"No, he just…did", Jemima sounded confused, poor thing.

"I'm going to kill him", Victoria declared and began to walk off. Jemima leapt after her and dragged her to a stop.

"No, it's okay."

"It's not! He has a girlfriend, Jemima!"

The calico burst into tears suddenly and said, "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay", Victoria answered, shocked. Electra had a feeling this wasn't going to go well.

_

* * *

September 25__th_

Electra went on another late night adventure to "Moon Pond". She was surprised when someone had already taken her spot near the pond. It was Jemima.

"I knew you'd come."

Electra nodded slowly, "Do you need help?"

"Alonzo told me that I shouldn't tell anyone about him and me", Jemima stated and exhaled sharply as if her burden had been lightened.

"He wants you guys to keep your relationship a secret?"

A nod confirmed it.

"So he's with you, but still with Cassandra?"

A nod confirmed it.

"You're okay with that?"

No nod this time. The calico looked down and said, "I'm not strong like you, Electra."

Jemima started to sob again and mangled words came out of her mouth, "He was talking…and kissing me…didn't know…what to do!"

Electra hugged the calico tightly and whispered something soothing. Jemima sobs wracked her body and shook Electra.

"That bastard", and for a second, Electra wasn't sure if she was talking about Alonzo or Plato. Alonzo, yes that was who she was talking about.

"Jemima, do you want to be with Alonzo?"

A pause.

"Yes."

"Then I'll help you in anyway I can."

"I don't want to hurt Cassandra, though."

Electra smiled, what a silly kitten, "Tell that to Alonzo. Tell him that he can only have one queen at a time."

"I can't."

"You can."

_

* * *

October 5__th_

Electra knew that she couldn't be with Tumble any longer. He was like a brother to her and she didn't want to hurt him.

So when Tumble asked her to accompany him to "Moon Pond", that night, she was surprised. What was he going to say?

It was dark and the moon was a crescent in the distance. Pink petals fell from a nearby tree.

"That day, when I tried to kiss you", Tumble started without letting Electra say anything, "You were thinking of someone else, right?"

Electra gaped, how did he know?

"I could tell by the way your eyes narrowed with anger", Tumble said, then a small pause, "I can also tell that you think of me as a brother."

Another pause.

"I'm sorry I forced myself on you like this", Tumble swallowed hard and stressed a smile.

Electra shook her head, "No, I'm sorry, Tumble. I was so lucky to have you, but I just can't."

"I know. So, this is over, right?"

"I'm sorry."

"That's okay", Tumble nodded to show that it was alright. Then he left with a simple, "Goodnight."

Electra stood next to "Moon Pond", and felt awful. Tumble was the most caring and kind tom of them all. She had put him to the side. How could she be so cruel? Why did she like Plato and not Tumble? He deserved someone better.

Tears rolled down her cheeks and she didn't try to stop them. She cried.

"Why so sad?"

Electra whirled around and screwed her eyes shut. Damn it, why did he have to show up, now, of all times.

* * *

Plato watched her cry bitterly and shake herself. Then the corner of his mouth tilted up and he had a sincere smile on his face.

* * *

Stupid Plato!

"Go away!" Her voice was strong but a little quaver snuck itself in. Plato lazily watched her cry. He didn't offer any comfort, what a bastard.

Then he was standing right in front of her, centimeters away. Plato leaned down slowly as a small pink petal fell onto her head.

_

* * *

What am I doing?_ Plato's thoughts swam hazily in his mind, making sense but being totally ignored. Did he want this?

* * *

Further and further Plato leaned. Electra watched him with surprise. What was he doing? In her paw she gripped a pink petal tightly.

_**

* * *

**_Plato couldn't tell anymore and it was too late to back out anyway.

* * *

Her grip loosened and the petal fell out of her paw onto the ground.

* * *

He kissed her.

**Ooohhhh! Sorry. Anyway, you know the routine. Review? Please?**

**__****Note: Rewritten. Very miniscule changes. Not much. Done rewriting for this time.**  



	7. First Jellicle Ball Arc 1

**A/N: What can I say? I'm sorry. Truly, deeply sorry. My excuse: I was helping move to Chicago. My arms are still sore. Please forgive me. And if anyone is still reading this boring story, thank you! I'm grateful. A proper apology: This chapter is 4,311 words long without my ridiculously long author notes. Pretty good for me.**

**On another note, I went back and rewrote parts of the story because I was having one of those OCD moments. Nothing too big, except that Plato no longer has an inner demon (Even though people seemed to like it, I felt that it was cliche and cheesy) and that Macavity isn't mentioned by any of the younger characters. This means that this chapter will actually make sense. Oh the horror!**

**To my awesome, faithful (I hope) reviewers:**

**To DNDK 38: That does make sense, don't worry! Hm, well thank you for liking my pairings with Jemima, it just pops into my mind sometimes. Sorry for the aboslutely horrendous wait and I hope you are still reading! Enjoy!**

**To musicgal3: Thank you and sorry for the wait. Enjoy!**

**To AdrenalineRush16: Rewrote, so that Plato doesn't have inner demon, maybe just his own inner self, but that's it. Sorry! Also sorry for doing a little Jemima/Alonzo and sorry for the wait! I like my Tumble, too. :) Enjoy!**

**To Skittakallista: Uh, sorry for the suspense! Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you are still reading! Enjoy!**

**To Secrettheshadow: Thank you for reviewing! I can't answer the questions yet, since I don't know! But I hope you read and enjoy!**

**Note: Thank you so much to all the reviewers! If not for you, I might not have continued! Thanks again, for the encouragement! And if this chapter seems poorly written, it's because 1. I haven't written in so long. 2. I'm brain dead right now. 3. I've lost any shreds of writing skill that I might have once possessed.**

**And, the Jellicle Ball is a little different. The one that is in the movie is NOT this one. Please note that. The movie one will come in later. Promise.  
**

_

* * *

October 6__th_

Electra couldn't pretend that the kiss with Plato had never taken place. Victoria just didn't have to know. Scratch that. Victoria was better off not knowing. There, Electra had justified her actions or rather, her lack of action last night. That memory would be hidden deep within her mind and it would never surface again. Never. But Plato had been a good kisser.

_

* * *

Today's the day! _Jemima clenched her paw tightly trying to awaken some nonexistent courage within herself. Nothing happened. The calico screwed her eyes shut and focused on only one thought. _I will say it today, I promised Electra and myself! Today is it!_

"Jemima?"

A playful voice broke her concentration and she inched her eyes open slowly. Now was the perfect chance to tell him, it was the perfect chance to end this. Perfect, in her mind.

"Jemima, you there?" The black and white tom's voice was friendly and cheerful.

_I have to say something._

"Um…Alonzo", Jemima said as loudly as the lump in her throat allowed her to; "I have something to say."

"Okay", Alonzo gave a small smile while waiting. The faint blush on her face was adorable.

_Say it! _She urged herself on.

"…"

Silence. The black and white tom waited patiently as Jemima collected her thoughts. This part was a little annoying. Alonzo wasn't good at the guessing game with queens.

"N-Nevermind, it's n-not that important", Jemima looked down, unable to find the words to express her feelings. Alonzo nodded and gave a light smile.

_

* * *

October 7__th_

Victoria wasn't foolish or stupid. She knew how Electra felt about _her _boyfriend. The way the dark tabby's eyes brightened considerably when he was around was obvious enough. Then the way her friend's demeanor would dull after Victoria told the Fantastic Four about a particularly romantic moment with Plato. No, if anyone was naïve or thoughtless, it was Electra.

As long as Electra never said anything about the matter, neither would she. It was as simple as that.

_

* * *

October 10__th_

Skimbleshanks sighed and ran a paw through his disheveled vest. It was tiring to be a Railway Cat, but that was who he was. A helper. But he had neglected his family for too long. The Railway Cat had politely requested a short vacation and since he was always devoted to his work, his boss had agreed.

Even though Electra was now outside the Kitten Compound, Jenny still worked with the kittens there. Skimble took in the familiar sight of his den. Then someone came in.

"Skimble?"

Her voice was so magical. He could hear it over and over again and never tire of it. If that was so, why had he left for so long? Skimble couldn't remember anymore.

_Flashback_

_"Skimble, this isn't working out", Jenny's tired voice told him. The Railway Cat couldn't process the words correctly. _

_"We argue about the smallest things. You should know best of all that Electra deserves a better environment to grow up in!"_

_It was a good argument, after all Skimble had been raised by abusive parents and had been emotionally scarred for years._

_"If you want me to leave, just say so!" His voice rose as his core flared with anger. The moment the words left his mouth, he had regretted it. Skimble had gone against his own code. He had raised his voice to her. Unforgivable._

_"Leave", Jenny's voice shook._

_"I-"_

_"Please."_

_She had pleaded. He couldn't say no._

_Flashback End_

"I'm sorry."

Jenny closed her eyes gently and whispered, "Yeah, me too."

_

* * *

October 15__th_

"Don't you ever miss your parents?" Jemima asked Electra. The Fantastic Four sat around "Moon Pond" talking about nothing in particular.

"Huh? Oh, I guess I do." Electra wasn't really paying attention.

"You guess?" Etcetera's voice completely broke her concentration and the dark tabby sighed heavily in defeat.

"What's wrong? Do you think you're above us?" Victoria's voice was deadly mischievous. It was clearly a joke and a warning mixed together. The joke was the mask that Etcetera and hopefully Jemima would be blinded by. Her gut told her that the warning was about Plato.

"Nah, we're friends I would never think that", Electra returned with a slightly worried lump in her throat. Double meaning again. _Please don't let Etcetera understand._

"I'm confused", Etcetera declared as Victoria gave her a warm smile.

"We're just playing around."

"No fair! I want to play too. How do you play?"

Jemima and Electra laughed as Victoria gave her some rules.

"Oh, um…you have to jump up and down until you're tired!" The white queen bit her lip as she said that.

Etcetera went cross eyed in annoyance and said, "Liar!"

A completely deadly and dangerous moment had transformed into something light and funny. Life was too fast.

* * *

Finally, Etcetera had gotten tired and left with Victoria to go eat dinner. Jemima and Electra decided to spend some more quality time together.

"You haven't told Alonzo yet", Electra stated slowly watching the calico's face for some sort of reaction. Jemima's eyes narrowed reflexively at Alonzo's name, but softened immediately.

"No", she replied softly, "I couldn't bring myself to do that."

The two sat in silence for awhile.

"How's life?" Jemima asked out of nowhere.

"Not sure."

"What do you mean?"

"I think everything is crashing down on me. It's the weight of the world."

"What happened?"

The dark tabby sighed, "A lot has happened."

Jemima could tell that was all she was going to get out of Electra. So on to the next topic, "It's almost the Jellicle Ball!"

"Yeah, but it's not one of the big ones", Electra murmured.

"What?"

"You know."

"I don't", Jemima giggled.

Electra rolled her eyes, "Every year we have a Jellicle Ball, but every five years we have a big one. At the big one all the Jellicles around the world will gather to one place. I hear that in two years it will be our turn to host the event and Old Deuteronomy might even attend for the whole Ball!"

"Really? How come I didn't know any of this?"

"You just don't listen", Electra stuck her tongue out.

"I do!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

_

* * *

October 17__th_

Marc had the Jellicles gather around the Seat for an announcement. His voice echoed out, "It's almost time for the Jellicle Ball!"

Cheers rang out and it was cliché beyond cliché. Electra almost rolled her eyes, but it was her first time going to the Jellicle Ball. She could afford to be cliché and lame. Yeah, she cheered alright.

"We'll start the preparations right away", Marc's excitement was contagious. The Jellicles scattered away quickly, no doubt fighting over songs and dances. The Jellicle Protector turned and yelled, "Wait! The kittens that are having their first Jellicle Ball come back over here!"

The nine kittens scampered back nearly tripping over each other in the attempt. Marc tried to hold in his amusement, but remembering his own days of youth, couldn't take it and burst out laughing.

"He's off his rocker", Pouncival commented lightly while examining a claw in a nonchalant manner.

Admetus nodded in agreement and replied in a matching tone, "Can't expect differently from an old cat."

In a flash, Marc pounced from the Seat and onto Admetus, effectively pinning him to the ground. He flexed his jaw mockingly and asked in a whisper, "Who are you calling an old cat?"

Admetus was too astounded to answer and nervously gulped. Marc smiled teasingly and leapt off without another glance towards the unruly tom.

"The Jellicle Ball is a gathering of Jellicles for the year. You'll get to see people you haven't in awhile and be able to sing and dance to your heart's content. Each year, one Jellicle is chosen", Marc's voice became a hush. The nine kittens sat very still listening to his explanation.

"What do you mean by, 'chosen'?"

Marc's eyes shined brightly, "When you are chosen, you are reborn in a new life in the Heaviside Layer."

"The Heaviside Layer", Etcetera repeated reverently although she had no idea what it was.

"But, this is your first Jellicle Ball, don't expect a large role", Marc laughed as protest came from the kittens.

_

* * *

October 27__th_

"I'm super excited!" Etcetera was definitely not nervous at all for the first Jellicle Ball, in serious contrast to Electra, who was having problems thinking straight.

"Don't worry, Jemima, it will be fun", Victoria attempted to persuade the calico. Evidently, Jemima was worried as well.

"By fun do you mean the kind where people all laugh at your mistakes?"

At this, Electra laughed and felt a little better. It's always good to know that there is someone in worse condition than you. The dark tabby patted her friend on the back, "Don't be silly. You'll be the perfect little kitten that everyone will love!"

"Correction, she is the perfect little kitten that everyone loves", Victoria replied, earning herself a playful glare from Electra.

* * *

Marc had explained most of the events, but still the real deal was so different from what Electra had imagined.

The Ball started with Demeter doing the Opening Dance with Munkustrap. The black and white tabby sang a short Invitation to the Jellicle Ball. Then Marc made some poetic speech about meeting once a year and then something about Old Deuteronomy. Electra didn't feel like listening to things that she already knew since it was so boring.

After what seemed like an eternity, the first candidate showed up. Victor, the Alley Cat, was warmly welcomed and treated respectfully. Apparently he preferred living in the alleys, something that Electra couldn't understand. Who would want those damp conditions?

The Alley Cat was a notorious con-artist that had once plotted against the Junkyard, but upon seeing the gentle dwellers of the messy area, he felt a strong connection. Victor looked like an older version of Alonzo and was quite handsome, except for the long jagged scar that ran from his right ear through his right eye and to his chin. Everything about him, from the tip of his torn left ear to his slightly crooked tail, screamed tough and enduring. His eyes were hard and glazed over as if he had seen few happy days.

After a rousing song about the strong tom, the Jellicles scattered throughout the Junkyard to listen to the Jellicle Protector. Marc waved his arms and whispered about Bustopher Jones, the Cat about town. In the middle of the introduction, a loud crash sounded and the alarms went haywire.

Demeter's eyes went huge as she sensed a presence. Then she whirled around and whispered in disbelief, "Macavity."

A horrible laugh echoed off the walls. Electra was sure she had never been this scared before. What was this terrible being that instilled fear with just one evil laugh?

Marc stood up straight with a terrible look in his eyes. The hard glint reminded Electra of Victor for some reason. The Jellicles ran away as fast as they could at the signal from Marc.

The Jellicle Protector looked around waiting for the threat to appear and fight. No one ever showed. Marc called for the Jellicles to come out. Then Bustopher Jones, Electra assumed it was him, showed and made everything just jolly again.

All the toms crowded around the poor fellow trying to gain his favor or something of the sort. In all honesty, Electra found the performance disgusting.

After Bustopher Jones left, Coricopat and Tantomile sang a nice little song about something wise beyond anything. The meaning of their little piece went way over everyone's heads. Jemima seemed to understand a part of it and explained to Electra.

"They're singing about how we should always be prepared since the future is one thing we'll never be able to see", the calico whispered as the mystical twins bowed low.

_Figures_, Electra rolled her eyes, _Trust Jemima to be able to find a meaning in the words, "Fear what it is that no man ever saw which never was but always will be."_

The dark tabby shrugged and went along with the program. According to Demeter, the Mating Dance was next. Whatever that meant, Electra sure didn't want to know. It ended up being Demeter and Munkustrap doing this weird, slow dance in the middle of the Junkyard while everyone lay on the ground around them in pairs. The kittens were excluded and sat in the sidelines.

Then began the short nap before Old Deuteronomy would make his yearly appearance.

* * *

The dark tabby rubbed the sleepiness from her eyes as a big furry blob of rug sat down on the Seat. Apparently the Rug-Tom was Old Deuteronomy and it seemed that the day's surprises seemed endless, but the moment the Rug spoke, she felt respect for the old Jellicle.

"My dear children, family and friends, I'm glad you were all able to make it. I see that still a few of my fellow Jellicles have not arrived, but nevertheless, I am sincerely happy to see each and every one of you. To those kittens who I have never met before, I say welcome and thank you", Old Deuteronomy's tone was soft yet commanding enough to demand everyone's attention.

Electra sat very still and felt a little awe at the Jellicle Leader's power and kindness. Was this what made everyone like him? Suddenly Electra felt an overpowering urge to bow down to this figure of importance.

Old Deuteronomy smiled as Marc bowed once in greeting.

* * *

Before Old Deuteronomy's announcement started, Jenny, Jelly and Skimble arrived, all looking happier than they had in ages. Electra saw her parents and ran over right away for a big hug.

"Wow, you've grown so much", Skimble exclaimed proudly over his only child. Electra beamed back at her father and hugged him tighter.

* * *

The Jellicle Leader sat down and smiled warmly at his audience of Jellicles. Then he spoke, "Choosing a Jellicle is a very difficult matter, much like choosing a name. When a Jellicle is reborn in the Heaviside Layer, it is a celebration, not a day of mourning. For those who have witnessed a Journey to the Heaviside, this is not new, but to the young kittens in front of me who are still young, they should welcome this event with open arms."

Old Deuteronomy opened his arms and opened his mouth.

**CRASH!**

The Jellicle Leader and Protector stood up straight in alarm. Demeter's eyes widened and she hissed, "Macavity!"

There was that name again. Who was this Macavity? Was he a demon of the Underworlds, or perhaps a monster in a nightmare?

From seemingly nowhere, that horrific laugh sounded across the Junkyard again. Electra shuddered and edged closer to Jenny, who hugged her tightly. Jemima looked on the verge of fainting and even Victoria was looking around uneasily. Etcetera was the only one who was unaware of any peril.

The answer to all the questions flying through Electra's head appeared. A tall, thin, ginger cat with a white lightning bolt down his chest, jumped down from the rocking chair and onto Munkustrap's back.

"Macavity!" Demeter screamed hysterically as Bombalurina tried to drag her friend away. The ginger cat turned with a snarl and looked at Demeter with blank eyes. Then he laughed and whipped a paw across Munkustrap's face.

Marc roared and leapt onto Macavity's back, scratching and biting with everything he had. Macavity flung the Jellicle Protector off his back and sent Munkustrap flying with a simple push. Jenny, Jelly and Skimble herded the kittens to the side as the fight continued.

On one hand, Electra was scared out of her mind and wanted nothing more than to bury her head in the ground, but then the other side of her was wickedly interested in the fight. The tall ginger tom was holding his own against two, no three, toms.

Alonzo, Munkustrap and Marc were fighting as if they were wild and untamed animals. But Macavity was quicker than lightning and his strikes were hard and accurate, in contrast to their clumsy and somewhat ill-aimed swipes. A minute later Alonzo stumbled back, holding a paw against his chest as blood poured down from the wound. Unexpectedly, Coricopat lunged with frightening speed at the ginger tom. His twin lay unconscious nearby, the cause unknown at the moment.

The mystical tom's face was savage as he attacked without calculating anything. Macavity laughed and turned his attention solely on Coricopat, while leering at him.

"It looks like you're not a coward anymore, Coricopat", Macavity smirked as he kicked a leg towards the other's head.

"Looks like you're still a bastard", he yelled while blocking the blow with his paw.

Jenny hugged Electra tighter and whispered soothing words. Things were looking grim. Soon only Coricopat and Marc were left standing. Alonzo and Munkustrap were both in no state to help defend the Junkyard. Old Deuteronomy watched from the side with an unreadable expression, but it looked like pity to Electra.

Suddenly, Demeter flew through the air and latched onto Macavity's back. Marc and Coricopat retreated two steps backwards as Macavity halted. The ginger cat turned his head slowly and looked at the queen on his back.

"Demeter", he greeted almost casually, as if they were at a party. Well, the Jellicle Ball was sort of a party, but Macavity definitely had not been on the guest list.

"Stop this insanity, Mac", Demeter whispered and readjusted her grip so that he couldn't escape.

"Let go, Demeter", Macavity's voice had changed from the harsh tone he had used before to a gentler one. Under any other circumstances, Electra would've sworn that he sounded exactly like Old Deuteronomy.

"Mac, I-"

"I'll give you one more chance", the ginger cat warned her, and the harsh tone back once again. Using this as a distraction, Marc dived quickly and slammed into Macavity's stomach going at full force. Demeter flew off his back and onto the ground. Macavity held his stomach and growled in pain. Then, he turned and ran as fast as he could towards the Junkyard exit. The ginger tom leapt and crashed through the gates making a quick escape.

Marc and Coricopat were sorely out of breath and made no attempt to follow the tom. Demeter sat on the ground with a sad and angry expression on her face. Then the black and gold queen slammed the ground with one paw and started to cry. Bombalurina and Jemima rushed over to console her over something or another.

* * *

Electra couldn't believe what had happened in that short amount of time. Macavity had almost massacred them! Well, putting it like that was a little strong, but still, the ginger tom had attacked Munkustrap, Marc, Alonzo and Coricopat, in that order, and survived.

Demeter had been escorted back to her den, with Bombalurina watching her. Electra wondered what exactly had happened between her and Macavity, something had happened, that much was obvious.

Finally after the pandemonium had died down, Old Deuteronomy deemed it fit to continue with his announcement of who he had chosen.

"I hope that everyone is alright after that unfortunate incident", he sighed, "But the Jellicle Ball must go on."

It felt like no one was even breathing for a moment and one could have heard a feather drop to the ground. Electra held her breath as they waited.

"Marc, you have been with us for so many years, I am a little sad to choose you", Old Deuteronomy said with a twinkle in his eye. Marc's raised an eyebrow in surprise as the Jellicles congratulated him on being given such a great honor.

Then out of the sky came a huge metal claw that descended and seemed to form a stair case to the Heaviside Layer. Old Deuteronomy put an arm around Marc and escorted him to the staircase. As Marc walked up the stairs, the Jellicles sang Journey to the Heaviside Layer, a very appropriate song for the moment. A layer of mist shrouded the Jellicle Protector and then he was gone and the claw retreated back to the heavens.

For a second, Electra stood, absolutely transfixed by the sight. Then the awe she was feeling was replaced with a small shred of sadness. Marc had been one of the nicest and approachable Jellicles. He was gone. What was the Heaviside Layer? Was it a nice place? It had to be.

Then it was over. Electra's first Jellicle Ball was over and she was relived, in a way. The dark tabby desperately wanted to ponder on the day's events, but her parents and sleepiness made sure that she didn't get her way.

_

* * *

October 28__th_

Electra yawned as a stream of sunlight poured into the den, effectively waking her up. At the same time, Jemima woke up, too. The two of them walked out of the den together.

"Is your sister, alright?"

Jemima had definitely expected the question, "Yeah, but I don't know what happened between Macavity and her."

"Should we ask her?" Electra was downright itching to just race to Demeter and shake some answers out of her.

"Curiosity killed the cat", Jemima replied cryptically.

* * *

After lunch, the visiting Jellicles departed and Electra bid farewell to her loving parents.

Jemima ran over and practically dragged Electra away to her sister's den. Upon entering, Electra saw that the Fantastic Four were all now present and crowding around Demeter.

"I feel like some queen talk", Demeter answered the dark tabby's questioning gaze. Once everyone was properly quiet, the black and gold queen began to tell her story.

_

* * *

Demeter's Story_

_

* * *

Macavity is one of Old Deuteronomy's sons and no doubt, the strongest. I met him when I was brought in from the alleys. He was funny and protective of me. The way he looked at me sent jitters down my spine. I think he may have loved me once or maybe it was an act all along. All I'm sure of is that I loved him too much. I devoted my very existence to him._

_Now that I think back, I should've known that something was wrong with him. He had moments of instability where he would have this blazing look on his face and become increasingly violent, but he never hurt me, not once._

_Sometimes he would yell at me and leave when he was angry at the world or Old Deuteronomy, but in the end, he always came back to hug me tightly with whispered words of excuses._

_

* * *

It happened so suddenly. There was no warning at all. He disappeared from the Junkyard and my life. No goodbye letter, no murmured promises, all he left was a feeling of anger and sadness._

_For awhile all I could do was think about him and think that he would be coming back soon. Even after the Junkyard proclaimed him as a traitor, I'd think that he'd come around the corner and tell me it was a dream and everything was going to be fine. If he didn't return, my life would have been for nothing._

_Bombalurina helped me get back onto my own two feet. I tried to convince myself that I felt so much better that Mac was gone forever. I might have even convinced myself at times._

_And then yesterday, he came back. All the work that I'd put into forgetting about him and hating his guts, all that went out the window. I thought I was finally rid of those gripping feelings, but they were back and stronger than ever. I still love him and need him. Why does he torture me so? Why am I so weak?!_

_

* * *

End_

* * *

By this time, Demeter had started to cry again, but instead of full-on bawling, a few tears slipped off her face in silent defeat. The Fantastic Four were shocked into silence. For some reason, Electra found herself thinking about Plato. Etcetera wanted to hug Demeter and tell her that everything _was_ going to be fine. Victoria just looked down at the ground cursing Macavity for making anyone feel that bad. Jemima was just plain shocked that all that had happened to her older sister.

Bombalurina jerked her head signaling them to leave so that Demeter could take a nap. Demeter suddenly yanked her head up and said, "No, it's fine. I'm glad I finally got it all out."

* * *

Macavity had fled from the Junkyard and returned to his Hideout where his friends and faithful servants were waiting for him. One tall, lanky tom asked, "You failed?"

"That damn Marc slammed me", Macavity growled back hoping they wouldn't think less of him.

A queen to his left gave a short bark of laughter and scoffed, "One Jellicle and you're out? You really must be getting soft."

"It was four and Marc is the Jellicle Protector", the ginger tom defended himself and his honor. A handsome albeit feminine tom stepped forward.

"_Was_", he said with a small smile on his face. Macavity gaped.

"What?"

"_From my very reliable sources, I have found out that Marc was chosen yesterday. So he is no longer the Jellicle Protector and no longer a thorn in our side_", the tom answered with a voice as smooth as silk.

"Then we can make our move?"

"Yes and this time we wont fail, isn't that right, Mac boy?"

Macavity snarled viciously, a wild and terrifying glint in his eyes and hissed, "Yes and then those pompous fools will know how they ruined us!"

**Don't ask who those cats with Macavity were. They were his friends and will be given some "screen time" later. Promise. Please review? Again, sorry for the wait. I'll try to work on the updating thing.  
**


	8. First Jellicle Ball Arc 2

**A/N: Yes I realize that I haven't updated in a week and a few days or so. School started yesterday, so I was lucky to actually get this up today. I'm now a freshman, though! Woot!**

**To my lovely reviewers:**

**To AdrenalineRush16: I love Plato too, but the way my line of thinking is going he might turn out evil still! :( Thank you for liking the Jellicle Ball part, I was kind of hesitant since it was sort of boring to me. I have honestly no idea what Victor is supposed to look like, so it was just instinct! You'll see about the Jellicle Protector. I cover it in this chapter. Thanks for reviewing! Enjoy!**

**To PlatoLuvr-08: It's okay. Sorry about the sort of slow update! Electra is my third favorite queen, but she's getting there. Thanks for reviewing! Hope you like this chapter!**

**To musicgal3: Yep, finally. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope you like this one as much as the others!**

**Note: It's on the short side. Sorry about that. Next chapter will have more...and this is the end of the First Jellicle Ball Arc! And yes, I love Lord of the Rings.  
**

_

* * *

October 30__th_

The days seemed to wind down and become labeled as boring since the Jellicle Ball, and basically all excitement, had ended. Jellicles were supposed to be content with a laidback, and remotely safe life, but Electra wasn't the type to pass excitement and luckily her friends were the same.

So when the chance to go watch a movie arose, also known as a possible escape of the Junkyard and its endless stock of monotony, even Tumblebrutus was tricked into going. Thankfully, Plato wasn't one to seek out fun activities and opted to stay in the Junkyard, doing Everlasting Cat knows what.

As the kittens, sans Plato, walked, they started discussing all the going-ons that had happened.

"Don't you miss Marc?"

Electra looked at Etcetera with sad eyes and nodded vigorously, "Of course I do."

"Why did Old D have to choose him?"

"It's an honor, Etcetera, we should be happy for Marc, you know that", Victoria tiredly explained for the umpteenth time.

"How do we know that it's an honor? I mean, what if he actually goes to a terrible place and stuff?"

Victoria sighed and huffed, "Not this theory again."

"Just trust", Jemima voiced her opinion as Pouncival and Admetus were arguing heatedly next to her.

"On a brighter note, what's the movie that we're going to watch?" Electra asked without hesitating.

"I think the title was Lord of the…Fingers…the first one", Etcetera scratched her head and paused for a moment, "Wait, not fingers, it was something about hands."

"Rings, Etcetera, it's all about the rings", Victoria suppressed a giggle as Etcetera stuck her tongue out teasingly in response. Electra and Jemima openly laughed at the pair and their antics.

* * *

After the blistering walk to the theater, the Fantastic Four sat in a row of four, with Electra and Jemima on the two ends. Unfortunately, Pouncival decided that he hadn't had enough fun teasing Admetus on the way and opted on sitting next to Electra.

"Ever read the Lord of the Rings?"

Electra wished that she had a nice roll of duct tape sitting in her lap at that moment, but as luck and fate would have it, she did not have any means of shutting him up. The dark tabby tried ignoring the little nuisance, but Pouncival was not one to be disregarded.

"Were the polysyllabic words too long and difficult for you to read?"

_Ignore him, Electra_. She gritted her teeth and tried to stop her paw from automatically strangling him.

"I know, you don't like to read about intelligent and worldly acclaimed best sellers and classics", Pouncival quipped, pretending he couldn't sense her anger.

_Look at the pretty trees and don't think about strangling a stump that happens to look like a certain annoying tom. _Hmm, maybe her, "Distraction Plan A", was actually working.

"Ah, I know, it was the Hobbits, wasn't it? You don't like reading about your kinfolk", the little brute was pushing it.

_Ooh, that is it, I've had it! He can insult my intelligence, but never, ever, my height!_

"I have read it and the one closer to the Hobbits is not me, little one", Electra glared at the tom beside her.

"Miraculous! She talked! Oh, great one, I am not worthy of such pure and untainted words that one as godly as you would spout", Pouncival got out of his seat and bowed down to Electra with a great amount of exaggerating. The rest of the Fantastic Four plus Admetus sniggered at his foolish antics and thus Electra was forced to engage in combat.

"So the Neanderthal does have some sort of manners", the dark tabby lifted one eyebrow in challenge, which Pouncival dully accepted.

The small tom leaned the row of chairs in front of the current row they were sitting in and shrugged, "If you really did read them, what did you think about it?"

"As a whole? I thought it was an exciting read from start to finish", she said, noting to herself how fake and ridiculous that statement had sounded, but she wanted him to leave her alone.

"Well all of them were really homosexual and stuff, it was like guy pairings throughout the book", Pouncival scoffed, demoting the great work to trash in record time.

"It's called friendship and no one asked for your opinion", Electra raised her chin and gave a smoldering glare.

Pounce laughed, "Friendship? Nice one!"

By this time, all the other kittens had their eyes glued on the current battle between Electra a.k.a The Almighty Dark One and Pouncival a.k.a. Scrawny Underling.

"That's right, I forgot, you don't have any idea of what friendship is, so that sentimental stuff went right over your undersized brain", the dark tabby felt on a roll and almost did a victory dance. Almost.

"Shut-up", Victoria was blunt as ever, "The movie is starting."

Throughout the whole movie, Pouncival nudged and poked Electra mercilessly. The dark tabby forced her eyes to stay on the screen, but that plan was failing miserably.

"Stop", she hissed, trying to be quiet while Gandalf was yelling to the Balrog.

"Stop what?"

So, he was going to play innocent, was he? Well there was no way Electra was going to let him have any win over her. She poked him back, deep in the ribcage and he almost let out a yell.

"Guys, if you are going to feel each other up, do it somewhere else", Victoria chided mockingly, "For the love of all that is sane, please."

That got some giggles from the Fantastic Four and a violent reaction from Electra as she scrambled away from Pounce.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you really want me to repeat myself? Okay, here goes. Guys, if you are-"

"Shove it", Electra grumbled and left the theater with her cheeks painted red from embarrassment.

* * *

"Hey, listen", Victoria hugged Electra once they all had returned to the Junkyard, "I'm sorry for what I said, but it was kind of out in the open."

"It's fine", Electra brushed the white queen off a little rudely, "I probably would've done the same thing if our places had been switched."

"But you know", Victoria started with a sly voice that had led to many past humiliating moments, "You and Pouncival make a pretty great couple."

"Victoria", the dark tabby wanted to bury her head in the ground, but persevered, "Vicky, you know how I feel about him."

"Well if you're referring to your obvious crush on him, I totally know."

"Augh, this isn't getting anywhere", Electra tried to walk away but was roughly grabbed back by a white paw.

"Just ask him out, it's obvious you two have some sort of spark", Victoria's voice lost all playfulness.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I want to do you both a favor and realize what's so blatantly there!"

Electra cleared her throat, "This is about _him_, isn't it?"

"Why do you ask that, Electra? Do you have guilty conscious tugging at your mind?"

"If you want to know if something happened, you could've asked", the dark tabby said in a quiet voice.

"What would I want to know from you?"

_Too many have played the innocence card today._

"Let's just get this over with", Electra faced Victoria fully and continued, "If you want to ask about Plato and me, now is your chance."

"So we're going to spill everything", the white queen spat at her friend.

"Spill Day as you call it", Electra's voice was bitingly scornful. Victoria stood up tall and got into the dark tabby's face.

"Alright, I'll start", the white queen hissed, "I know that you have a "thing" for Plato."

"My turn", Electra said more calmly and composed, "I've known from pretty early on that you knew."

"That is news, but not what I want to hear", Victoria whispered, "My turn, I know that something's happened between the two of you."

"I wanted to tell you, but how does one go about telling a friend this kind of thing?"

Victoria laughed, "First off, friends would never make a move on the other's boyfriend."

"I didn't make a move on Plato", the dark tabby bit out and felt the urge to run away now while there were still some secrets hidden.

"Plato would never do anything like that", Victoria's eyes narrowed accusingly, "In your dreams maybe."

"Victoria, this is why I didn't tell you, because I knew you'd never believe me."

The white queen pawed the ground, "What happened?"

"I'm going to tell you and when I finish, I'm going to explain. If you can promise that you'll listen through my explanation, then I will proceed", Electra lay down the terms in a diplomatic way, knowing that Victoria would expect nothing less from her.

"Agreed", Victoria held her gaze steadily and nodded.

"I was by the pond and I'd just broken up with Tumble", Electra started, making sure she hit all the details, "Out of nowhere, Plato appeared and he…approached me. I told him to go away, because I was a little distressed, you know? He didn't listen and he got closer and suddenly we were…"

"You were kissing", Victoria's voice was flat and dispassionate.

"Yeah."

_

* * *

Flashback_

_

* * *

He kissed her._

_His lips were soft and cool, but the kiss was warm and tender, the exact opposite of what she had expected, not that she had expected this to happen. Their lips were pressed together softly, but as the dark tabby tried to pull away Plato tugged her back. They didn't part until breath was crucial to survival._

_As Plato tried to pull her in for another kiss, Electra stopped him, "What are we doing?"_

_"I believe the term is kissing", Plato stressed the syllables of 'kissing'. He leaned again, determined as ever._

_"Stop it", Electra pushed him and started to run, but his paw snaked out and grabbed hers._

_"Stop what?"_

_"Stop this madness!" Her voice echoed away until it was faint._

_"Do you really want me to stop?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Look into my eyes and tell me that you want me to go away. I promise you that I'll do just that", Plato whispered with an impassive face. Electra spun around quickly, but upon looking into his dark eyes, found that she was unable to lie to him like that._

_"G-Go away forever", Electra choked out finally and looked away as quickly as possible._

_"Very well, but if you ever want to take back those words…", he trailed off and left again. Electra watched his retreating back and briefly wondered where he was headed to._

_

* * *

Flashback End_

* * *

"I didn't mean for it to happen. Your friendship is so much more important to me", Electra tried desperately to get Victoria to look at her.

"Let me think this through", Victoria's voice was a little shaky.

"Okay."

_

* * *

November 4__th_

Still no word from Victoria had come, so Electra assumed that the white queen hadn't forgiven her yet. What was one to do in her situation? Flip Plato off or something?

* * *

Macavity waited for his Henchrats to return with the status of the Junkyard with his friends.

"Your Henchrats are so undependable, you know how they get distracted", the lone queen of the group complained.

Macavity rolled his eyes, "We've been over this, Meg."

"Yeah, well I'm not sure why I always let you win."

"More like you have no choice but to stand down", another tom laughed quietly.

Meg snarled and barked, "Shut-up, Kassian."

After a few minutes of bickering about Everlasting Cat knows what, his Henchrat showed.

"What do you have to report?"

"Master, the preparations are ready!"

"Excellent", Macavity turned to his three friends, "My friends, I believe the time to execute our plan has come.

"Stress on the finally part", Meg grumbled.

_

* * *

November 6__th_

Old Deuteronomy had told everyone that he was going to make a rare appearance outside of the Jellicle Ball to name Marc's successor. Electra supposed it would be Alonzo, Munkustrap or Coricopat. All three had fought with Marc and risked there lives for the well-being of the Junkyard. Coricopat seemed highly unlikely though, since his action had been for personal reasons.

But as the time to announce neared, Jemima felt uneasy.

"Guys, something big is going to happen", the calico whispered nervously to the Fantastic Four. It seemed that she wasn't the only one, as the Mystical Twins had reported odd things to Old Deuteronomy in turn.

* * *

"Ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be", Kassian whispered back to Macavity with a scowl.

"Go then."

* * *

Electra watched as Old Deuteronomy laboriously climbed to the Seat with minimal aid from Munkustrap.

"My fellow-"

The sirens went off and everyone knew that it was Macavity. Even if the Mystical Twins hadn't gotten all jumpy, they would've known from the atmosphere. Then the telltale laugh came, as horrific as Electra remembered.

"My fellow Jellicles, I am proud to introduce…", the metallic voice trailed off for a moment, then a ginger tom jumped out, "MACAVITY!"

"Mac", Demeter whispered almost longingly and hugged Munkustrap tightly for some reason. Munkustrap gripped her paw and muttered incoherent promises of protecting her.

"I just want you all to know that your time is coming", Macavity hissed and shook his mane of unruly hair, "This is only the beginning."

"What are talking about?"

Munkustrap was too late and the ginger tom was gone as suddenly as he had appeared and the Jellicles were weary. Macavity just wasn't the type to suddenly appear and do nothing, but give a speech.

Old Deuteronomy stood and laboriously choked out, "Secure the area, Alonzo."

When there was no rustling of footsteps and no confirmation that the black and white tom had heard anything, the Jellicles were perplexed.

"Alonzo, secure the area! This is an emergency situation", the Jellicle Leader tried again to regain control.

"Where's Alonzo?"

Electra looked around her, as did all the Jellicles, as they searched for Alonzo, but the efforts were fruitless. Old Deuteronomy's brow drew together and he shook his head in confusion.

"I think the only logical explanation is that Alonzo was kidnapped while we were distracted by Macavity", Electra voiced as her brain worked quickly.

"Kidnapped? How do we know that he isn't just missing or if he…joined Macavity?"

All eyes turned to Electra and she gulped at the sudden attention, but continued anyway, "Old Deuteronomy was on the verge of choosing the next Jellicle Protector. Macavity must have assumed that our Jellicle Leader would pick Alonzo and so he kidnapped him. If Alonzo was on Macavity's side, they would have left him here so that Old Deuteronomy would pick him and thus the main defender would be on his side. If Alonzo was a traitor, Macavity would not benefit from revealing this now."

Her audience was rapt as they listened and the dark tabby felt that maybe they understood now.

"Then we need to hurry and save him", Munkustrap pleaded with his father.

"For now I will appoint Munkustrap as temporary Jellicle Protector and I will send out a group of willing volunteers to locate Alonzo", Old Deuteronomy sighed, "Who is willing?"

"I am", Cassandra called out as most had expected in this situation. Jemima shrank back, not knowing if she should volunteer or not.

"I'm willing", Victoria stated slowly, "I have an inkling of a plan, but it can't be shared to everyone. May I talk to you in private, Old Deuteronomy?"

The two of them walked away and Electra felt a weight lift from her shoulders for some odd reason.

* * *

Macavity looked at Kassian and grinned in approval at the slumped figure of Alonzo on his back.

"Old Deuteronomy will have appointed Munkustrap as temporary Protector and a small squad of moderately capable Jellicles will now chase after us", Macavity laughed quietly, "The Junkyard will be prone."

* * *

An hour or so later, Victoria and Old Deuteronomy walked back to the Seat. It seemed that the Jellicle Protector had agreed to the white queen's plan for he had allowed her to take charge.

"On this mission I will need certain Jellicles to come and if your name is not called, please do not try and argue, for we will waste valuable time", Victoria presented her case to the Jellicles.

"Cassandra will come because she has known Alonzo the longest and will be able to tell if he is forced to say something", Victoria started, "I will need Quaxo and Coricopat for their strength and tracking skills. Rumpleteazer for her thieving abilities and even though she does missions for Macavity, she has proved her loyalty through oath."

The Jellicles started whispering furiously, but the moment the white queen held up a paw, silence ran through the crowd. She had the same air as Old Deuteronomy, Electra realized.

"And lastly, we'll need...", Victoria looked straight at Electra and her heart stopped, "...Electra."

**It was partly rushed, but I didn't know how they'd really react. Clarifying, Alonzo was kidnapped by Kassian, while the Jellicles were distracted by Macavity. Please review? I'll try to get another chapter up quickly...**


	9. Rescue Alonzo Arc 1

**A/N: So I promised ASAP and this is ASAP. Short, but intense I guess. I tried to have an intelligent plot,** **but I may have failed. This chapter is mostly confusing, but I will (hopefully) clear that up next chapter.**

**To my awesome reviewers:**

**To PlatoLuvr-08: Alonzo is just a magnet for trouble! :D I hope you like this chapter.**

**To DNDK 38: Plato probably wont be here for awhile. :( Victoria must have something good planned, right? Thanks for reviewing! Hope you like this one!**

**To BubblesandPudding: Welcome? Thanks for reading and reviewing! Glad you like this story! Enjoy!**

**To AdrenalineRush16: This is quick, right? I love LOTR so much! The triangle thing was solved only because Victoria is smart! I don't like the clawing out eyes by best friend plot thing. So, I changed it up a bit. Electra doesn't have that much of an exciting role, but this is her story after all!**

**Note: Sorry for the short chapter. I promise some confusion will be cleared next chapter. And yes I did steal a line from Casino Royale and the other from 300.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and various OCs. Pity me.  
**

* * *

"We'll need Electra", Victoria repeated again, "For her excellent reasoning ability and honesty."

The Jellicles weren't sure what her honesty was supposed to be, but Electra knew it was Victoria apologizing and accepting her apology. The dark tabby nodded with a slight smile and said, "I accept."

The rest of the chosen chorused, "I accept."

"Good, we leave tomorrow", Victoria was straight to the point.

_

* * *

November 7th _

The six of them set off the next day as soon as the claws of the sun came into view. If Cassandra was truly devastated with her loss of Alonzo, she hid it extraordinarily well and Electra would not have guessed that she was even affected.

"So what's the plan?" Ah, Rumpleteazer was as direct as ever and it was a good thing too as Electra didn't want to be the one to crack.

"Quaxo I wont reveal your secret, but if you can track them, I'd be grateful", Victoria muttered out of the corner of her mouth. Quaxo looked briefly surprised, but nodded quickly in confirmation.

"What's your secret, Quaxo?"

"Rumpleteazer, there is a reason it is called a secret", Electra whispered to the Cockney accented queen next to her. Rumpleteazer scoffed and ruffled her own fur.

"A secret just isn't a secret unless I know it."

_

* * *

Victoria must be aware that without Marc, Alonzo or Coricopat, the Junkyard is right in the open for attack._ Electra couldn't understand why the white queen had requested for Coricopat since, besides the fact that they would need some muscle in this rescue mission, he and Munkustrap were truly the only defense the Junkyard had. Pulling him out like this was a bad strategy and the only logical reason for that move was that Victoria had a different plan from what most had in mind.

After three hours of tracking, Quaxo was pretty much out of it, so the group took a break and Electra decided to ask Victoria what was going on.

"Vicky, we need to talk", Electra announced and pulled her friend out of the small cave they were resting in. The white queen obediently followed, for she must have foreseen this at the very least.

"Tell me, is this a double move?"

Victoria looked at the dark tabby with calm eyes and nodded once. Electra continued, "Thank you for forgiving me, but why was I requested for this mission?"

"Because you're just as smart, if not even smarter, as I am", Victoria stated plainly with a certain degree of playfulness.

"Quaxo, he's able to do something like manipulating minds, correct?"

"Sorry, 'Lectra", Victoria shrugged with a small smile, "I was sworn to secrecy.

* * *

Macavity sat down in a small council with his three partners in crime in their lair. The ginger tom leaned forward, "Meg, Kassian, and Draconis, time to plan."

"My spy birds have returned with the reports of the members of the rescue squad", Meg offered suddenly and scratched her ear irritably.

Kassian sat up straight, "Who was sent? Any pretty queens?"

Meg whacked him with a paw so quickly that he couldn't avoid it.

"Ouch!"

"Shut-up", Meg growled and he did, because she was being serious for once and she continued, "The birds reported that there are six Jellicles in the rescue squad."

"_Can you describe the six?_" Draconis leaned down towards Meg and looked into her eyes with an unmatched intensity.

"O-Of course", Meg stuttered, cursing herself for showing weakness and said, "The leader appears to be a pure white queen of average height and she's delicate looking."

Macavity thought hard, but supposed it was probably one of the younger generations and had arrived after he had left. Meg continued with her report, "Two toms, one is Coricopat and the other is a tuxedo cat who gives a magical aura."

"Coricopat, huh?"

"Rumpleteazer is among them, but I have no idea why they are even trusting her", Meg sputtered and chuckled.

Macavity's eyes hooded over momentarily and then he motioned for her to continue.

"Cassandra that Abyssinian, the haughty one, remember? Well, she's also in the group", Meg said, "And the last one was a dark tabby with stripe marks and she was pretty small for a queen."

"Four queens and two toms", Macavity pondered for a moment.

"_They're going to be pretty smart_", Draconis whispered in his silken voice and continued after the three others gave him an odd look, "_Coricopat is the fighter and he has no back-up._"

"Then we'll go with the original plan?"

"Yeah, Mac boy, we will", Kassian scoffed, "They shouldn't have dragged Coricopat along. Munkustrap ain't that strong."

There was a general agreement that the time to attack the Junkyard had come.

_

* * *

November 8__th_

Electra yawned as the six of them trudged down a path that Quaxo claimed was the right way, but the dark tabby wasn't sure she believed him. He probably sensed her doubt, because he kept giving her reassuring glances every five seconds.

Conversation was sort of rare during the trip, since Coricopat and Cassandra were not known for their social skills. Rumpleteazer tried to get something going, but the spark never lit.

"This is it", Quaxo whispered as they stopped outside a large cave, "I'm sure of it."

"Sure looks like Macavity's old lair", Rumpleteazer sniffed disdainfully, "It reeks of him."

"Yeah, I can sense the power inside of him", Quaxo breathed in deeply, "It's full of anger and sorrow."

There followed an awkward pause, none of them wanted to think of Macavity as a fellow Jellicle. So without further ado, Victoria stepped in the cave and led the way through the impenetrable darkness.

* * *

"_They're here_", Draconis whispered to his servants and they flinched at his voice.

* * *

"Quaxo, can you locate Alonzo?"

"Yes, he's this way", Quaxo pointed to a hallway barely visible by the torches flaming in the hallway. Electra nodded and said, "Cassandra and I will go this way. The rest of you guys, back us up and try to find whoever is in charge."

Victoria caught on right away and sprinted away in the opposite direction with the three others trailing behind her.

* * *

Draconis stood by Alonzo's cage with his usually impassive demeanor held in place by silver half-mask.

* * *

Electra and Cassandra raced into the small chamber containing small identical cells that were separated by a thin layer of rice paper. The cells were set around in a square formation around a pavilion in the middle and on the pavilion stood a masked tom.

"_Welcome_", the tom wore a long black and red cape that concealed the majority of his sleek silver fur, but whether it was accessory or necessity to cover some hidden weakness, Electra could only guess. His voice was haunting and at that moment the dark tabby wanted to do nothing but run back home. Through his mask, she was able to see two slits of red that pierced their gaze on her.

"_Cassandra_", the tom whispered the name delicately as the said queen shuddered at the sound. "_This is a maze and Alonzo is at the exit waiting for you._"

The Abyssinian hesitated and looked quickly at Electra for some direction or guidance in this situation.

* * *

Draconis narrowed his eyes as Cassandra looked at the dark tabby next to her. It was obvious that the one with the brains was the tabby and that she was a formidable opponent. From the moment he had mentioned the word, "maze", her eyes had darted through the room seeking a route and had found one quicker than he had expected.

* * *

"We'll split up, Cassandra, and I'll confront that tom while you get Alonzo and get out of here", Electra whispered out of the corner of her mouth as quickly as possible.

Cassandra visually traced her way through the maze once and then broke out into a run towards the first open cell door. In contrast, Electra walked calmly and slowly to the door on her left and eased it open slowly as if expecting a trap.

The tom in the center watched her patiently and she knew that he was not to be taken lightly. Finally she picked her way through the simple but lengthy maze and towards the pavilion. Cassandra was still lost in the middle somewhere.

"_May I have the honor of knowing your name?_"

The tom sounded like Pouncival when he was pretending to treat her like a holy goddess, but she had a feeling that this tom was deadly serious.

"Electra, nice to meet you", the dark tabby replied with a small smile on her lips.

"_Electra_", the tom stretched her name out as if relishing the way the syllables rolled off his tongue and the dark tabby shivered despite herself.

"And you are…"

"_I don't have a name, but I am known as Draconis_", he replied smoothly savoring the way she squirmed under his heavy gaze.

"Draconis? A dragon", Electra tried to get a reaction from the stoic tom, but failed as expected.

* * *

Draconis slowly lifted his mask off his face watching her face for a reaction. The first emotion that crossed her face was surprise, then anger and then she was back to being impassive. It had happened quickly, so Draconis doubted she even knew that he had observed it.

* * *

The mask lifted and the dark tabby was surprised to see a beautiful face only marred by a scar and burn on the upper left part of his face. It was like Phantom of the Opera, but in real life she felt seriously scared. The tom was dangerous and had seen many things in his lifetime.

"What is the point of having a pavilion in the middle of a maze?"

"_You haven't noticed yet?_"

Electra's eyes widened as she her brain finally started to catch up to the current moment.

"Shit, this isn't good", the dark tabby twirled around to take a better look at the maze.

"_For one so smart, that was a terribly trusting move. This is obviously a prison, not a maze._"

* * *

The doors had a mechanism that once opened and closed, the latch would turn 90 degrees and lock itself. When Electra had opened the door the mechanism had turned and when she had shut it, it locked. So the maze was a self-locking prison.

"But you can't get out either", Electra pointed out, "So that means the place you are standing on is a mini-elevator. When you go down, I can easily follow."

"_That's the point, Electra_", Draconis drawled with ease as he ran his claws through his cape.

"Then the plan worked perfectly", Electra revealed to the silver tom and in turn he raised one perfect eyebrow.

* * *

Munkustrap ran back to Old Deuteronomy with his findings.

"Father, the attack is with rats", Munkustrap yelled in panic as Macavity's Henchrats swarmed the gate, "Macavity is using his rats!"

* * *

"_Why do you say that it has worked?_"

"It means that Macavity has already launched his attack on the Junkyard and so it means that you have no force of subduing us. The only way is to trap me here until Macavity comes back, but Alonzo has been successfully rescued", Electra replied calmly and looked him in the eye.

The silver tom suddenly broke out into an uncharacteristic grin and chuckled low.

"What?"

"_Your theory has a blowing flaw_", he explained as he continued to laugh, "_I already knew of your real plan._"

_

* * *

Flashback_

* * *

"_Listen up, I'm going to say this plan once and that's it", Victoria told the four other members of the rescue squad. Rumpleteazer nodded vigorously as Coricopat managed to look completely disinterested._

"_We anticipate that there will be an attack on the Junkyard while we are rescuing Alonzo. The Jellicles have become the diversion and bait while we are the main focus", the white queen explained carefully._

"_The Jellicles will evacuate to the Car Yard two miles west of the Junkyard once the alarm is sounded. At that exact moment we will have our chance to rescue Alonzo and seal off Macavity's Hideout since their strength will be depleted faraway."_

"_So, it's like two birds one stone, right?" Ah, Rumpleteazer was poetic!_

"_Exactly."_

_

* * *

Flashback End_

* * *

"What are you saying?"

"_I'm saying that the Junkyard is currently under a fake attack and that Macavity is still here_", Draconis was stoic again, but he sounded satisfied with the results, "_The real plan was to trap the Junkyard's new masterminds under our wings._"

* * *

Victoria led Coricopat, Quaxo and Rumpleteazer down the hallways towards the center of the base.

"I can feel someone blocking me off", Quaxo whispered to Victoria quietly so that the others wouldn't hear.

The white queen turned to him in surprise, "Does that happen often?"

"Almost never."

"This could be bad", Victoria murmured mostly to herself rather than to the tuxedo tom beside her.

* * *

"How did you know that we weren't the diversion?" Electra couldn't believe that they had planned that far.

"_Well you see, your friend, Rumpleteazer…_", his voice had a mocking tone about it, "_…Is actually my friend, Rumpleteazer._"

* * *

The four others finally got to a brighter room where they could actually see each other clearly. But in the room sat Macavity, the Hidden Paw, who had been expecting them for quite awhile.

"Welcome, tonight we dine in hell."

**Review? Again, if this is confusing, next chapter will be clearing that up. Please review!**


	10. Rescue Alonzo Arc 2

**A/N: Hello peoples. I made it to Chapter 10 in this very long story. I'm sorry to say that this story may end up being 30 chapters long. Take heart, for I will try my best to lengthen chapters and update in a timely fashion. If anyone is willing to read this incredibly cliche and long story, I will be eternally grateful. Eternally.**

**To my super, fantastic, decreasing number of reviewers:**

**To DNDK 38: Thank you! I haven't watched 300, but I watched the trailer. That line just stuck. Hope you like this chapter!**

**To AdrenalineRush16: Yes, I love Victoria and I couldn't bear to bash her for too long. Thanks for reading and reviewing! I hope this clears up the confusion a bit...Enjoy!**

**To Roselna: I don't know if you have read this far yet, but if you have I would like to thank you for your amazingly heartwarming review. It really made my day! Thank you for liking my story and reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

**Note: If you still don't get what happened, I explain in detail at the bottom. And forgive the choppiness of some parts.**

"talk" - regular speech

"_talk" - _Draconis speech or thoughts

"talk" - Both Victoria and Electra speaking

* * *

"I should have known it was Macavity suppressing me", Quaxo berated himself as they were now at the mercy of the Hidden Paw.

The Napoleon of Crime stood up from his throne and said, "I will give you two options at this point."

At a wave of his paw, the entrance from which they came from was sealed closed by a large rock. The four of the rescue squad turned in surprise and horror at their entrapment.

"The first option is to surrender and come quietly to the dungeons with my Henchrats", the ginger tom raised an eyebrow, "The second option is to swear a binding oath of loyalty to serve me."

"I see", Victoria replied calmly, "But there is one thing I'd like to say."

"Yes?"

* * *

Electra's eyes widened and she said, "Rumpleteazer?"

"_Yes_", Draconis pulled a mocking face of sympathy and said, "_You didn't really believe that she would be able to resist bribery, did you?_"

"Actually I kind of expected her to resist", the dark tabby replied almost conversationally as she examined the rice paper covering the cells. Maybe she'd be able to barge out, since the paper was weak.

"_Don't try_", the silken voice told her. On closer examination, the rice paper was actually some sort of spider web, silken threads or something.

"_They're poisonous. The moment they make contact with your fur or skin, you're as good as dead_", Draconis focused his slit-like eyes on her carefully.

Electra backed away from the poisonous threads slowly, "Dangerous, huh?"

"_Of course_."

"Well then", the dark tabby pondered, "It's a good thing I like danger, isn't it?"

* * *

"I believe you've left the most obvious option out", Victoria stated as if she was commenting on the weather.

* * *

"_Even if you like danger, I know you wouldn't be so reckless as to crash into the poison threads_", Draconis laughed a little, his lips twisting into a smirk and even though he rarely smiled, it seemed that the young queen in front of him was quite entertaining.

* * *

"What have I left out?", Macavity asked a little tiny part of him interested in what this young white queen had to say.

* * *

"Then I have no choice", Electra muttered quietly, almost to herself.

"_No choice, but to what?_"

* * *

"To resist!"

* * *

Macavity raised an eyebrow and started laughing at her outright, "What could you possibly do?"

"Initiate", Victoria muttered to Quaxo and Coricopat.

* * *

"_Seriously?_"

Electra quickly darted to the door and opened it with ease, much to Draconis' surprise.

"_What? How did you unlock the mechanism?_"

* * *

Coricopat suddenly lashed out to his right and knocked Rumpleteazer unconscious with one blow as Quaxo turned to the stone blocking the entrance/exit. The mystical tom ran up to Macavity and the two began to wrestle and fight. Victoria waited for the Henchrats to appear and as they did, she knocked them out with ease one by one since, after all, she did have the upper hand, the element of surprise was on her side.

* * *

The dark tabby had already darted towards the exit that Alonzo and Cassandra were supposedly by and ignored Draconis' demands. The silver tom had tried to follow her, but the maze was a double-edged sword and the moment she closed the door, he could not follow. Once she reached the exit she called back to the middle, "I didn't completely close the door because I felt the mechanism under my paw and that was mere child's play. So now when I close it, the doors are now locked."

She dodged out of the way and the sleek-furred tom was left in the middle of the pavilion. Draconis wondered aloud to himself, "_That was a clever move._"

* * *

Quaxo focused his inner energy on the rock and tried to shift it aside with his mental powers, but it wasn't working at all. Old Deuteronomy had explained the magical powers that he possessed, but the concept was a little out of reach for him.

* * *

_Flashback_

* * *

_"Every being has a certain amount of inner energy", Old Deuteronomy explained to him slowly and deliberately, "Some beings are able to focus the energy and thus create magic or illusions. You are unconsciously leaking inner energy to your brain and thus you are able to look into other's mind without meaning to."_

_"Can I only read minds?" Quaxo wanted to know about his powers and the extent of them._

_"If you are able to focus it in your mind, you could probably do telekinetic things, too."_

* * *

_Flashback End_

* * *

"Focus the inner energy in my mind", Quaxo whispered nervously to himself and couldn't stop, "Everyone is counting on me, I've got to do this right."

He felt something pushing at the edges of his mind and suddenly the ground rumbled a bit. Was it his wild imagination or had the immovable boulder actually shifted a little to the right?

* * *

Coricopat was locked in combat with the Hidden Paw and both struggled to throw the other off balance and both were failing to do so.

"You shall pay dearly", Coricopat gritted out as he pushed harder against the ginger tom.

"Still pining after your _twin sister_?"

"Argh!" Suddenly, the mystical tom shifted his weight to the side and let Macavity fall through the air, still pushing at a now nonexistent force. Then Coricopat kicked the Napoleon of Crime in the stomach hard and the air was beaten out of the ginger tom.

* * *

Electra stepped into the sunlight again, thankful for its warm, but currently dulling rays against her fur and looked around her for Alonzo and Cassandra. The dark tabby hadn't really believed Draconis when he had said that this was the exit, but there were no other ways of rescuing Alonzo at this point.

Electra ran down the alley until she came to a dead end and curiously, neither Alonzo nor Cassandra was in sight.

"_It looks like we meet again_."

* * *

Victoria chopped the back of a Henchrat's head for the umpteenth time and briefly wondered whether she should help Coricopat or not. The mystical tom was holding his own, but the moment Macavity used any of his powers, it would be over. Quaxo needed to hurry and get the stone out of the way and hopefully Electra had already successfully saved Alonzo.

* * *

"Draconis", Electra muttered, "Mind telling me where Alonzo and Cassandra are?"

"_Cassandra_", the silver tom whispered, "_Is currently out of action and her dear mate, Alonzo, is…_"

The dark tabby feared the worst for a moment, but fear never got anyone anywhere and so she beat it down and faced the silver tom.

"Draconis, what is the purpose of trapping me?"

"_We, meaning the Four Lords of Crime, have decided to present to you a generous offer_", Draconis looked at her with his piercing red eyes.

"The Four Lords of Crime?"

"_Yes, would you like to hear the proposition?_"

"Let's hear it", Electra managed finally, weighing her options in her mind.

* * *

The tall ginger tom lashed out with a certain amount of inner energy concentrated around his hand and converted it into outer energy. The result was Coricopat went flying across the room and crashing into the opposite stone wall none too gently.

"Quaxo, hurry!"

Quaxo felt a few beads of sweat roll down his forehead and off his chin, but concentrated as hard as he could. Then he thought of an idea, that maybe converting his inner energy to outer energy would enable to move the rock to the side.

The white queen launched herself at Macavity with viciousness in order to buy the tuxedo tom some time and hopefully distract the ginger tom long enough. But Macavity grabbed her paw and swung her around into a slight headlock.

"Why don't you think about the offer I made you?"

Victoria gasped and tried to wriggle out from the demon's grasp, but to no avail.

"Why are you asking me to join you?"

Macavity looked at her slowly, "You anticipated to some degree that Rumpleteazer was going to tell us your plan, so you told Coricopat a back-up plan and I must admit that was pretty quick."

"What has that got to do with anything?" Victoria seriously wished the ginger tom would stop playing with them so maliciously.

Macavity leaned down and his long mane brushed against her ear as he whispered, "We need someone of your intelligence on our side. You must know that you are one of the Junkyard's future defenses."

* * *

"_Swear the oath of loyalty to us and become my future successor_", Draconis whispered quietly, but it sounded deadly.

"You want me to join forces with the Four Lords of Crime?"

"_Well, basically, yes._"

"Why do you want me to join?" Electra was suspicious enough, but this offer of joining was pushing it a little too far.

"_You must know, that you are one of the Junkyard's future defenses._"

"You must be lying."

"_What would I benefit from lying to you now? Saying that only makes you even more pitted against us and I'm telling you only because it is the truth._"

Electra looked at Draconis in disbelief, "From the beginning, kidnapping Alonzo had nothing to do with an attack on the Junkyard."

"_Precisely_."

* * *

"I don't lie to as pretty queens as you", Macavity breathed deliberately into her ear watching her shudder underneath his hot breath. The white queen mumbled some incoherent words of protest as he tilted her mouth up to his slowly.

* * *

"This was a plan of weakening the Junkyard to the point of no return", Electra slowly realized their plan from the beginning.

"_Yes_."

"You kidnapped Alonzo because then Munkustrap would be announced as Jellicle Protector instead of Alonzo. They're equally strong, but Munkustrap is ruled by emotions, not duty."

"_Essentially, yes_."

"The Four Lords anticipated that a highly capable, if I do say so myself, squad of Jellicles would come rescue Alonzo. You wanted to take away the masterminds behind any planning so that the future generation of Jellicles would not have more brilliant thinkers than you."

"_Congratulations, you figured it out_", Draconis nodded, but his tone was devoid of any happiness, it was just plain passive.

"But why would I join you?"

* * *

Macavity's lips almost touched Victoria's, but at the last moment, the ginger tom was ripped away by a forceful pull. Coricopat's face was pulled back into a ferocious snarl as he growled, "I believe this is when I step in."

The mystical tom slammed his head against the Hidden Paw's and Macavity could've sworn that he saw stars.

"How are you still standing?"

Coricopat lunged forward, "Because I swore that I would kill you!"

* * *

"_Because it is the sensible thing to do_", Draconis stated and suddenly shot at her with startlingly speed and she was held against the ground.

"What are you doing?"

"_Listen to me_", the silver tom shook her a little, "_I know that you won't fall for things as insignificant as money, but know that with a position that I am offering you, you could become more powerful than Old Deuteronomy._"

"Why would I want that?"

"_All creatures bow down to power and that is the rule of life. You aren't dumb, so think carefully about what I'm saying. Do you want to live as a happy, jolly Jellicle forever? The most you'll ever be is a caretaker for kittens and if you're lucky, your father will have you become a Railway Cat._"

"How do you know about my father?" Electra looked at him, trying to focus on that question, rather than the ideas he was injecting into her head like venom.

"_You will be trapped for the rest of your life and no one will look at you and think that you are someone of depth and intelligence_", Draconis continued, totally ignoring her question, "_Is that what you want?_"

Of course it wasn't what she wanted, but he was telling lies so that she would be blinded by them and join his stupid organization of crime.

"_You want to be in that cage and rot away until you are nothing?_"

* * *

Coricopat charged, not letting the ginger tom have a moment to gather energy in his paw. Quaxo pushed at the stone harder at felt it shift ever so slightly under his paws until finally it rolled to the side.

"Let's go!"

Victoria turned to Quaxo and was glad that the entrance/exit was now unblocked, but Coricopat was still locked in combat.

"Quaxo, can you help Coricopat?"

"I can try", he replied, but in truth his strength and magic was depleted greatly. The tuxedo tom focused his remaining inner energy on breaking off the signals in Macavity's brain, but as his energy approached the ginger tom's, he felt a strong push backwards.

"I can't, he's deflecting my attack", Quaxo panted to the white queen beside him who had started thinking again.

"Just keep on trying, it must take a lot for him to deflect it, so he'll be distracted at the very least."

Quaxo started to focus again, but Victoria laid a hand on his shoulder, "Thank you."

He nodded and continued with the telepathic assault upon the Hidden Paw with renewed vigor.

* * *

"Draconis, you know nothing about how I feel", Electra whispered in a lethal tone that allowed no argument even from an enemy.

"_Well then, I'm sorry to say that you won't be allowed to leave_", the silver tom hissed to her.

* * *

"Leave", Coricopat grinded out and shouted, "He wants to use you, Victoria, but if you get away his plan won't succeed."

"Don't be foolish", the white queen snapped back, "I'm not someone who turns her back on friends in trouble."

"You'll lose too much", the mystical tom said as he furrowed his brow in concentration.

"Victoria, weigh the options carefully", Quaxo whispered to her and laid a comforting paw on her shoulder. Victoria furrowed her brow and sighed.

"What are we waiting for, then?"

The tuxedo tom and white queen raced towards the exit leaving Coricopat grappling with Macavity behind.

* * *

Electra closed her eyes for a second, then flipped Draconis backwards, an easy feat for someone who had wrestled with Pouncival for so long. The sliver tom was completely unprepared and upon landing on his back, cracked his head, knocking him out. The tabby clambered onto her feet and ripped off Draconis' long cape with one flowing motion. Then she raced back to the prison maze as quickly as she dared to her paw with the cape, Electra reached out and tore open a large hole in the side of a cell so she could pass through safely. Then she carefully swung the cape around her so that her body was completely covered and walked through the hole carefully. She proceeded to repeat the process until she reached the exit safe and not the least bit poisoned.

Draconis hadn't seemed the type to care about his looks, so the cape had to be something of significance and the only logical explanation for the full body cape was protection against the poison threads. The only flaw in that was the what-if situation of someone stealing the cape from the silver-furred tom, as Electra had used it to escape. The dark tabby supposed she had to be grateful to the smooth-speaking tom for unintentionally offering her an escape route.

The cape was covered in the poison threads and Electra had to cautiously remove it and leave it on the ground of the prison-maze. It was a rather attractive looking cape now that she thought about.

As the dark tabby met up with Quaxo and Victoria they ran through the hallway towards the exit without any questions asked. Then as the exit neared the white queen panted, "We were outmaneuvered and I can see that so were you."

"Rumpleteazer was expendable, but where is Coricopat?"

"I had-"

"Guys, wait until we're safe to discuss this", Quaxo interjected and the two queens nodded in agreement.

* * *

The three of them reached a past rest point and set up camp silently, but Quaxo tried to start up a lively conversation among them.

"Where is Cassandra?"

"You can read my mind, so you have no need to ask", Electra snapped and then held her head, "I'm sorry, I don't know why I said that."

"It's fine", Quaxo smiled, "You're just tired and we all are."

"We were trapped in a prison-like maze and I sent Cassandra through because this tom said Alonzo was at the other side. When I reached the other side, neither Cassandra nor Alonzo was there", Electra buried her face into her paws and groaned in despair.

"Coricopat took on Macavity while we left, but it seems that the Hidden Paw's plans were different from what we expected", Victoria shuddered remembering Macavity's offer.

"I expect Macavity made you an offer of joining him", Electra sighed and continued, "The tom I faced, a sleek silver cat, offered me that too."

"Really?"

"Yes, I found out their original plan from the beginning", the dark tabby looked grim for a moment before going on, "It was never to attack the Junkyard, they're still in the process of weakening the Junkyard to the point of no return."

"But this was a golden opportunity", Victoria argued with passion, "Munkustrap is like the only thing standing in their way at this point."

"Yes, but I think they anticipated that we would take defensive measures and shield the Junkyard from harm somehow", Electra answered wearily, "They were right and decided that weakening was still the main point."

"So you're saying that right now the things standing in their way are Munkustrap, you and me", Victoria listed out with a worried glance towards Quaxo who seemed half-asleep.

"They think that", Electra replied, "But in truth they have overlooked Quaxo, Admetus, Tumblebrutus, Tantomile and Plato."

"Quaxo for his magical thing", Victoria tried to explain Electra's logic to herself. At mention of Quaxo, he sat up looking mildly insulted at what she called his use of inner energy.

"Admetus and Tumblebrutus for their strength", the white queen thought aloud, "Tantomile for also having that magical stuff and Plato for his…um…"

"Psychological assessment of others and manipulation", Electra answered, "Not that those are bad things."

"I see", Victoria thought for a moment, "I guess I never really looked beyond the surface while I was dating him. No wonder he wanted to be with you."

"Victoria", Electra sighed, "He was just playing with both of us so that we would get angry at each other and…"

The two queens suddenly looked at each other with wide eyes as they realized the truth of the situation, but Quaxo was perplexed.

"What?"

"There is a 67 percent chance that Plato is on Macavity's side and tried to make safe an attack on the Junkyard", Electra stated slowly, "Because he knew that the two of us together would be more effective than alone."

"So the original plan for the Four Lords of Crime was to actually attack the Junkyard this time around, but when Plato failed to separate us, they changed it", Victoria gasped and shook her head, "But that would mean Plato went into contact with Macavity before we started going out."

"I thought you two thought it was 67 percent", Quaxo questioned.

"Quaxo, it's only 67 percent because you didn't suspect him", Electra whispered, "You can read minds and if Plato didn't know about that…how?"

"Well, you see", Quaxo coughed, "I try to block out thoughts, especially Plato's, because they scare me a little."

"So is it possible that between New Years' and the day we left, you didn't hear any Plato's thoughts?"

The tuxedo tom thought for a moment, "Very, since I usually stay away from him anyway. Now that I think about it, we were probably both avoiding each other for awhile."

"That raises the suspicion to about 95 percent", Electra deemed, "But we still need evidence to make it 100 percent sure."

"Isn't 95 percent enough?"

"No, Quaxo", Victoria playfully whapped his head and said, "There is still a small chance that Plato was sincere about liking the two of us and having no alternative motive."

"But the chances are small?"

"Well, knowing Plato, it seems like something he would do", Electra concluded with a shred of disappointment in her heart.

"Then why won't Macavity attack the Junkyard right now?"

"Is this like 20 questions or something? Well, anyway, to answer your question", Victoria sighed a little, "I think the Four Lords of Crime are making sure that everything goes perfectly. Plato must be their trump card, the last card shown."

"But remember, Macavity cheats at cards", Electra smiled as they remembered the song that Demeter and Bombalurina had wanted to write about the Hidden Paw.

* * *

In the darkness of the night, with only the pale moon guiding the way, a hooded tom made his way through the alleys with practiced ease. Suddenly he heard a rustle and dodged to the side quickly with a fluid grace. After a second of so, a rabbit hopped out of a nearby bush, steadying the hooded tom's fears for the moment.

The hooded figure darted out again and ran down the alley with quiet and almost silent steps. Under the pale light of the hanging moon, one could only see a shadow flitting across the alley walls so quickly that he was gone in a blink of an eye.

But as the tom neared his destination, he felt uneasy, for the night was eerily quiet. Two steps later and he knew why he had been careful.

Three dark shapes lunged from a corner alley and attacked him so suddenly and viciously that he could only bow down in defeat. When the three stepped into the moonlight, he gasped.

"Surprised, Plato?"

**Eh? I know right? Please review? This was sort of confusing, too, despite my best efforts. I hope you liked this chapter, anyway. Please review so I know how to improve, etc.**

* * *

**So to clear up the confusion:**

**_1. Plato joined Macavity before he started going out with Victoria. He meant to separate Victoria and Electra because he knew that they would be formidable together. When that didn't work, he told Macavity that they needed a different plan and that attacking the Junkyard would have to wait. So Macavity decided that the alternative plan would be to capture the two queens because then the Junkyard would have less defense._**

**_2. Victoria and Electra thought that Macavity had kidnapped Alonzo so that he could attack the Junkyard._**

**_3. Victoria suspected Rumpleteazer to some degree and made a back-up plan with Coricopat and Quaxo. She did not however expect that Macavity was still at the Hideout place and that the attack on the Junkyard was fake._**

**_4. Electra made sure that the doors did not lock behind her, but knew that Cassandra had to go on without knowing of the mechanisms. If Electra had told Cassandra, it would have been too obvious and thus ruin her plan._**

**_5. The rescue failed because Macavity had thought ahead of them. But Victoria and Electra managed to escape because Coricopat sacrificed himself and Draconis underestimated Electra's flexibility._**

_Does that help a little? Anyway, review?_


	11. Rescue Alonzo Arc 3

**A/N: I know, I know. Sorry? School's...you know...busy. I'm busy. I haven't had time to write lately, but I tried. This might not be up to my usual length standards. I'm not sure...I hope that you enjoy reading it though...Cheers!**

**To my wonderful, I stress that word to its full extent, wonderful reviewers:**

**To AdrenalineRush16: Ah, well, you'll see? Thank you so much! I'm sorry this took so long. I hope you are still reading and like this chapter.**

**To Getsemone: You'll see, too! Well thanks. Enjoy!**

**To Bombalurina4565: Thank you so much! It's great to see that there are people reading! Lol. Thanks again and I hope you enjoy this!**

**To Jellicle-Wishes: Thank you very much. It means a lot that you have reviewed. The end isn't near, that's all I can tell you. I hope you will still read, though. Enjoy!**

**To musicgal3: Ah, your review was truly amazing. It made my day and wow, I can't believe that you like my story that much. Once again sorry for the slow update. The story's sort of slowing down, but...anyway I hope you like this chapter!**

**Note: My story description and title aren't really working for what I have in mind for this story anymore...so starting next chapter this story will be called Who am I? I'll write this at the bottom, too. Only the title and description will change, but that's all! Sorry!

* * *

**

"Aren't you going to say anything?"

Plato looked up at Quaxo with his dark eyes and whispered, "What would be the point of that? You can read minds anyway."

"Yeah", Victoria scoffed, "Whatever, please just spare me your worthless ponderings."

"Plato", Electra said after a moment's pause in silence, "When did you betray the Junkyard and join the Four Crime Lords?"

"Never", Plato answered stoically with a slight sigh and gave them a serious look.

"So you're expecting me to believe that you just happened to pop up around here?"

"No, Victoria, I expected you to realize that I never betrayed the Junkyard because I never sided with the Jellicles", Plato replied with a tone of finality.

"What are you saying? You've been in the Junkyard for basically your whole life", the white queen shot back, letting her emotions overrun her.

"Incorrect", Plato responded quickly, "I entered the Junkyard when I was 5."

"You met Macavity when you were a young kitten", Electra stated slowly, "So, you never betrayed anyone then."

"Close, but no cigar", Quaxo smiled a knowing grin and sighed, "He met a tom named Kassian or something."

"Lord Kassian", Plato hissed, "He is the Lord of the West."

"What do you mean by Lord of the West?"

"The Four Lords of Crime are each named after a particular direction and this Kassian guy is the West one", Quaxo replied, quickly reading through a very irritated Plato's mind.

"I don't get how you could prefer a criminal to the Jellicles", Victoria shrugged, "I don't think he'd be very nice."

"See Victoria, this is why I'd never like you", Plato said in a cold tone, "He was the nicest cat I've ever met."

_

* * *

Plato's Story_

* * *

_The first thing that Plato could remember from his kittenhood was a black, sinewy tom standing over him with a kind, sloppy grin and bright eyes. The tom had whispered words of comfort telling him that everything was alright and that the world was a big place. The rest was hazy, but he remembered the tom saying that his own name was Kassian and that he'd always wanted a kitten of his own._

_"So, how old are you, little guy?" Kassian smiled that carefree grin of his and chuckled, "Oh I forgot, you probably don't know. I know what that's like, not knowing when you were born and who your parents are."_

_The small kitten had blinked sheepishly and yawned, signaling that he was tired and ready for a nap._

_"Don't worry though, I'll look after you now and the day I found you will be your second birthday", Kassian stated happily and screwed his eyes in concentration, "Now you need a name. What should I call you, little one?"_

_"What are you doing, Kassian?"_

_A new voice, an unfamiliar one, came towards the two of them and the kitten had huddled closer to Kassian trying to hide from another stranger._

_"Who is that?"_

_"Shh, can't you see he's scared?"_

_A queen with red and yellow specked fur walked forward and inspected the small tom in front of her suspiciously._

_"Who is he?"_

_Kassian had looked at the young tom and after a moment's pause, proudly stated, "Plato."_

_

* * *

End_

* * *

"Whatever", Victoria tried to hide the hurt in her eyes at his brutally honest comment.

"We're getting nowhere. Plato take us to the Hideout and show us another way in", Quaxo rapped out, "You'll do it because we're very scary when we want to be."

At the "very scary" comment, Electra and Victoria exchanged puzzled glances, but refrained from asking the tuxedo tom about the remark. Plato, on the other hand, found some meaning in those words and scoffed.

"Quaxo, don't mess around."

"Listen, take us there and we'll let you go real easy", Electra pulled Plato by the scruff of his neck and glared right at him.

"Che, whatever."

_

* * *

November 9__th_

"Gentle queens and magical tom, we have arrived", Plato made an exaggerated low bow that the three ignored purposefully.

"As agreed, you can go", Victoria sniffed disdainfully and looked at Electra with a small smile.

Plato scowled and muttered, "What do you want me to do? Thank you or something?"

"Just go", Quaxo barked suddenly and surprisingly Plato did just that.

* * *

Plato ran along the halls of the familiar Hideout searching for Kassian throughout the tunnels and finally found him.

"Lord Kassian, the three Jellicles have come back", Plato panted out to his Lord slowly.

Kassian turned around slowly with his trademark grin, "Good work, Plato!"

"Thank you, my lord."

* * *

This time around, Electra wanted no mistakes, so they stuck together and walked through the tunnels with caution and weariness. They reached a fork in the road that split three different ways and it seemed suspicious for there was one for each one of them.

"Do we split up or is that too dangerous?"

"They're trying to get us to split up and the tunnels are only wide enough for one of us at a time. If we all walk into one, it would be a perfect trap, so, I think it would be best to split up", Electra concluded, "We'll have to take the risk."

"Well then, I'd just like to say that you'll always be my friend and that I'm glad I'm here with you", Victoria smiled at Electra and then exclaimed, "Oh and I'm glad you're here, too, Quaxo!"

Quaxo blinked sheepishly and muttered, "Shouldn't you be more optimistic and say something like, 'Don't worry we'll all make it'?"

"Fine. Don't worry, we'll all make it", Victoria smirked and the three parted ways with a last nod.

* * *

Quaxo walked along the dirt-caked tunnel slowly and deliberately took one small step at a time making sure that he didn't set off any traps. Finally the end was in sight and he climbed out into a dimly lit room with dark blue walls and nothing else in sight except for one cat.

"You'll be stopping here, Quaxo", the queen smiled and turned around with surprising grace and fluidity.

"Don't be so sure of yourself, Megami", Quaxo replied as he scanned her head for information about the dungeons and quickly located Alonzo.

"This might actually be a bit of a challenge, but sadly the Lord of the South requires that I make you an offer", Meg replied, "I can tell you're valuable, too, for you figured out my full name."

"You are going to offer me a place within the Four Lords of Crime", Quaxo stated and continued, "You are going to offer me the position of being the Lord of the South once he steps down."

"Correct", Meg smiled and shrugged, "I can see why he'd want you as a successor."

* * *

Victoria crouched down low and crawled through the rock-encrusted tunnel following the path, but as she muttered about this being so troublesome, she heard a sound at the end of the tunnel.

"Must not be a very quiet cat", Victoria wondered aloud to herself. She reached the end of the tunnel even though her pace had been little better than snail.

"_I'm sorry to say that this is as far as you'll get, Victoria_", a silken voice whispered creepily to her. The white queen took a look around her and noticed that the room was void of anything but her and the silken-voiced tom. The walls were black as night and unmarred by marks or scratches of any kind.

"I think I'll be the judge of that, Draconis", Victoria hissed low in her throat at the silver tom.

* * *

Electra walked along the tunnel in what she hoped was a casual stride, but in truth her heart raced faster than ever and urged her to run for her life. The tabby persevered, ignoring the hammering fear inside her chest and narrowed her eyes in concentration on the task at hand. Finally she stumbled out of the tunnel, glad to see the light again and then she looked around the bright room. The walls were clean and slate white giving the room a sort of heavenly look.

A tom stood in the middle of the otherwise empty room and whispered, "I believe we have something to say to each other, Electra."

The tom in front of her was a long, sinewy, black cat with extremely bright blue eyes and a sloppy grin that on a lesser tom would have been deemed foolish.

"What would you like to say to me, Kassian?"

"I believe that yesterday you turned down Draconis' generous offer", Kassian raised one eyebrow in amusement, "I was wondering if you would reconsider that."

"Reconsider the decision I made yesterday", Electra repeated slowly, "Why do you think I'd change my mind at all?"

"It's all in your best interest and it might be a wise decision if you are even a slight bit concerned for your fellow Jellicles", Kassian mused as if he was talking to a child.

* * *

"_So you're the mouthy one_", Draconis drawled, utterly uninterested in her words of protest and continued, "_Whatever, I had hoped that I would have an easier one, but it seems Fate is cruel_."

"Yes, because it is so disappointing that you didn't get a mind reader or someone who already hates your guts", Victoria said, her voice loaded with heavy sarcasm.

The white queen had to give the tom some credit seeing as he didn't even flinch at the comment. Why did all the good looking toms have to be stoic and very arrogant pricks?

"_I'm not here to verbally spar with you_", Draconis said with a bored expression, "_I'm here to make an offer_."

"If it's the same offer that Macavity told me about yesterday you can shove it up your-"

"_Are you sure about that? Don't you even want to hear what I'm going to say?_"

"Tch, you guys never say anything of much importance", Victoria scoffed and turned away, angry at the silver tom for interrupting her bad-ass speech.

"_If you join the Four Lords of Crime, we will release Alonzo, Cassandra and Coricopat unharmed and alive_", Draconis listed, tapping his claws impatiently on the edge of his long cape.

* * *

"Why did you join the Four Lords of Crime?"

Meg looked at him in surprise and said, "You can read my mind, can't you?"

"Of course, but I'd like to hear how you would put it into words", Quaxo replied, trying to corner her into revealing her true feelings.

"It was because I wanted to be free", Meg said dully, "And something about the Junkyard just doesn't scream freedom."

"Well you know how the saying goes: You can't be-"

"-free and safe", Meg stated as she rolled her eyes, "I know that and so I decided freedom was more important than safety."

"Are you really free here?"

"I guess", Meg shrugged, completely nonchalant.

"I can tell you're disappointed and that this freedom wasn't what you expected", Quaxo whispered quietly.

"So what?" Meg was angry now and the tuxedo tom wanted to proceed carefully.

"The truth has become too real and harsh", Quaxo slowly read through her thoughts, dissecting memories and half-formed thoughts. "The nights are long and cold, the fear of being found is exciting but never ending. No one is there to offer comfort or words of peace. You wish you had never left."

"Shut up!"

"They're your own thoughts", Quaxo replied calmly.

Meg began to rant, "You would never understand how I feel! We aren't here to talk about me, so shut up about things you don't know! You're standing there so smug and sure of yourself because you can hear these thoughts inside my head, but the truth is that you're stupidest bastard I've ever met."

"Am I?"

"Yes", Meg shouted, totally in a state of confusion, "You're so stupid you can't see what's in front of your face! This place is great and I love it! The Junkyard could never measure up to half of it."

"Who are you convincing? Are you trying to convince yourself? Because even an idiot could tell it's not working", Quaxo placed a paw on her shoulder and gulped, "I can tell that your regrets are going to last forever unless you act now."

Meg looked at his paw on her shoulder and clenched her paw, "Stop."

"You have to face the truth."

"The truth? You know nothing about this truth."

Quaxo looked sad for a moment, "I hear everyone's thoughts. It's not by choice. I know more about this truth than most. Truth is something we are all blind to, but you can try and fight your way out of the confusion."

Meg was looking a little lost and whispered, "How do I fight it?"

"Help us", Quaxo whispered back with an intent look on his face, "Please."

The emotions Megami had not let herself feel for many years began to run wild within her system. The feelings tore at her pulling her one way than another and it proved too much for the moment. She broke out in tears.

"You've been keeping this bottled up inside for too long", Quaxo rsaid, taking the queen into an embrace, not out of love or affection, but to comfort her.

* * *

"Was that a threat?"

"I believe it was", Kassian quirked an eyebrow in amusement.

"Don't look so satisfied, even three year olds can make quips", Electra shot back quickly, thinking back to the many arguments with Pouncival.

Kassian smiled and shrugged, "We both know you're wasting time to think it out. You could have just asked for a thinking period."

"What would happen if I decline, again?"

"Well, then…", Kassian paused for dramatic effect and smirked, "Your friends will be in terrible danger."

"How terrible?"

"Terrible enough that you might get to see their corpses one last time", Kassian pondered thoughtfully, but his tone was mocking and harsh.

* * *

"Well I think you got straight to the point", Victoria answered, her heart beating a fraction faster at the thought of Cassandra, Alonzo and Coricopat being brutally murdered.

"_Do you have an answer for me?_"

The white queen was beginning to panic but shook her head once to clear the chaos inside her head. Draconis took the shake of her head as a, "no".

"_How long do you need?_"

"Dude", Victoria said, stalling for a little longer, "I don't need any time to think this over."

"_Then your answer is?_"

"I was going to say it before, but you interrupted me. You can take your offer and shove it up your-"

"_Thank you, but I don't need a graphic depiction of your fantasies_", Draconis drawled and turned away, "_Since you refuse, Coricopat shall now die_."

* * *

Quaxo and Meg ran along the halls towards the dungeons where Quaxo could hear thoughts swarming around.

"It's right here", Meg hissed and swung the door open to the dungeon. The tuxedo tom saw Alonzo, Cassandra and Coricopat in the cell at the farthest end. Coricopat was half-unconscious and quite bruised, but Alonzo and Cassandra looked relatively unharmed.

"Leave", Megami barked to the three Sparrowguards and waved them away from the cell with an air of authority that Quaxo had not yet seen from her.

"Are you guys alright?"

"Quaxo", Alonzo's voice was hoarse and he looked as if he hadn't slept in quite awhile, "Is this just another dream of mine?"

"If that is so", Cassandra smiled wearily, "We are having the same dream."

"It isn't a dream", Quaxo read through their mind and swallowed hard as he saw what they had to endure through.

"Hurry up!"

* * *

"How long do I get to think this through?"

"To think this through?"

"You said you'd give me some time", Electra replied with her brow knitted as crazy ideas spiraled through her mind, but none of them would even have a slight chance of working.

"There is no way out", Kassian replied, with a small twinkle in his eye, "Just accept your fate to become great and follow us."

"So you joined the Four Lords of Crime to become great?"

Electra's voice was laced with scorn and venom, but Kassian was calm as ever.

"Truthfully? Well, I only joined because of Meg", the sinewy, black tom replied, "If she left, I'd gladly lay down this and follow her."

"You're doing a great job of convincing me", the dark tabby smiled.

"It's the way I do things", Kassian said, "I'm not suited for this life style, but I try. That's as much as anyone can do."

* * *

"Wait", Victoria called to Draconis as he raised his paw to signal something.

"_Are you ready to cooperate?_"

"Cooperate? Is that what you're calling it these days?"

Draconis raised an eyebrow and began to lift his paw up to signal his subordinates. The white queen raised her paws defensively, "Wait!"

"_See, when one is cornered, he has no choice but to back down_", Draconis replied, with a slight smile on his face.

"Give me your word that you won't hurt or kill any of the Jellicles", Victoria's voice quivered at the mention of violence, but she willed herself to look at him.

"_Why should I give my word? I hold all the cards right now_", Draconis then lifted the corners of his mouth into a sadistic grin. Victoria clenched her paws into fists as she used every ounce of her will power to control her temper, but her self-control was sadly lacking.

"You're right", Victoria struggled to keep her voice steady, "When one is cornered, he has no choice but to back down."

Draconis looked a little confused at her tone, but took the statement as her surrender, "_I see_."

"But", Victoria started again and closed her eyes in concentration, "I'm not a 'he'."

With that said, her eyes snapped open and her face pulled back into a vicious snarl as she attacked the silver tom.

* * *

"Thank the Everlasting Cat", Cassandra sighed and she began to climb out of the cell, but was abruptly blocked. Coricopat had used the little strength he still had to flop down in between her and the entrance.

"This could", Coricopat strived to say something, "This could be a trap."

The hope in both Alonzo and Cassandra's eyes died down a little as they were opened to this possibility. Alonzo cast a weak look at Quaxo and with a slight sob, he bit down on his lip.

For once, Quaxo cursed Coricopat for being so careful with this.

"I can prove that I am Quaxo", the tuxedo tom held his paws out in frustration.

"Then why are you with her?" Coricopat looked at Meg with weary eyes and said, "We can't trust you."

"Damn it", Quaxo swore and kicked the wall, "Megami, are any of your subordinates insects?"

"No, Macavity's are rats, mine are sparrows, Kassian's are kittens, and Draconis' are…", Meg stopped suddenly and her eyes widened considerably.

"What is it?"

"Oh no."

* * *

"Meg has probably already joined our side", Electra spoke confidently, "If Victoria reached her, she's probably been tricked. If Quaxo was the one to face her, she has sincerely joined us. Either way, if you want to follow her as you described, there is only one way."

"Meg's a stubborn queen", Kassian smiled, "I doubt even your mind reader could get to her."

"You doubt? Then why don't we go to the dungeons and check?"

"Clever ploy, but it won't work on me", Kassian smiled, "If you had hoped for me to lead you to the dungeons, you are sorely mistaken."

Just as Electra was about to reply with a smart retort, a young kitten scampered inside the room from an unseen opening other than the tunnel.

"Kassian, the creepy tom's crawlies are going to the dungeon!"

Electra's brain went into alarm mode as she processed this quickly. Creepy tom had to be Draconis, no doubt, but what was "crawlies" supposed to mean?

"Thank you, Jore", Kassian nodded happily, although he shot a secretive glance at Electra who was trying to figure out what "crawlies" meant.

* * *

Victoria bit down onto Draconis' chest as he shouted, "Go, don't help me!"

The white queen didn't stop to ponder his words since they were in combat and continued attacking viciously. Draconis swung quickly to the side and wiped the blood off his chest once more.

"Damn", Victoria swore and dove for him, but the silver tom was surprisingly nimble and dodged to side just in time.

"And damn it again", Victoria darted away just before his claws swiped her face and sighed, "He's a fast learner."

Suddenly a movement to the right caught her attention and just as unexpectedly came a blow to the face quick and hard. She was knocked down to the ground and then Draconis pinned her down and whispered, "_When given a chance I'm not half bad at this._"

"Fu-", Victoria tried swearing but Draconis rocked forward, knocking the breath out of her.

"_Your friends are now facing death, I suggest you think this over real quick_", Draconis hissed, "_So what will it be?_"

* * *

"What are they, Meg?"

Meg was frozen to the spot and she trembled a little, "We better hurry out of here if you want to find out and still live."

* * *

"_Do you choose, Life or Death?_

"

* * *

The sound of scraping feet, tumbling rocks and clicking sounds echoed closer and closer towards the dungeons. Quaxo delved deeper into the minds of the oncoming enemies and tried unlocking what they were.

* * *

"_Yourself or your friends?_

"

* * *

The tuxedo tom began to sweat and in a panic he turned to Coricopat, "Please, I don't know what's coming but it's dangerous. We're not going to make it if you don't cooperate! Think of Tantomile! It's worth it, please, Everlasting Cat, don't you want to see her again?"

His words were mangled.

* * *

"_Love or survival?_"

* * *

"Coricopat, please!!!"

Meg suddenly gripped Coricopat tightly and snapped, "There are twenty…things…coming here and we need to leave."

"What are the things?"

Meg turned towards the door of the dungeon with a look of disgust and fear and whispered, "Poisonous spiders."

* * *

"_Or are you going to lose both?_"

**Is it sort of a cliffie? Well, as you see, Coricopat is NOT dead, Macavity must have decided he was worth more alive than dead or something.**

**I'll try to update, but no guarantees. Please review, so that I can imporve and know that I have people still reading! Thanks for reading.**

**It was sort of lame...but...yeah. And again, next time I update this story, the new title will be: Who Am I?  
**


	12. Rescue Alonzo Arc 4

_**Story Title changed. Still the same, though.**_

**A/N: Shortish. Apologies. I'm going on a trip tomorrow and won't be back for two weeks. Hopefully I'll be able to update while on my trip. If not, here's a last one for awhile. Forgot what else I wanted to say...oh yeah, wow! So many reviews, thanks!  
**

**To my wonderful, awe-inspiring, cool reviewers:**

**To DNDK 38: Awww....thanks! I'm glad you like my story. And I hope you read this one as well!**

**To Arianlyne: Thank you! Welcome aboard! I don't know too much about captivating, but thanks. Hope you enjoy!**

**To Jellicle-Wishes: I'm a sucked for cliffies. Here is the next chapter. The end is certainly nowhere near, not even planned out in my head. Hope you like this chapter!**

**To Bombalurina4565: That's so nice of you to say! Thanks once again for reviewing. That's one of my fav parts too! I hope you like this chapter as well.**

**To Getsemone: Thanks!!! Here are some more words to hang off of. ;)**

**To Misterfleas: Don't know if you've read this far, but thanks for reading and reviewing! That's so cool that your birthday is on the same day as my "imaginary" Jellicle Ball.**

**To AdrenalineRush16: Well...I've been dead for awhile...but yes Coricopat is alive and well! WOOT! Sorry. Hope you like this one as well.**

**To Roselna: Awwww....thanks once again. I'm glad you like my story so much! I think Electra's still young, but she's open...and that's what makes her look into life so deeply. And despite your report, I hope you get to read this chapter! Thanks again!**

**Note: Rushed.  
**

* * *

Quaxo cast a pleading look at Coricopat and he whispered, "I don't want to die, Coricopat. These spiders, they only have one thing on their mind and it's not pleasant."

The mystical tom looked at him stubbornly and refused, "I'll take my chances."

Alonzo and Cassandra seemed to trust his decision, or maybe they were just too tired to hope.

* * *

Victoria snarled viciously and tried to push the silver tom off of her, but he wouldn't budge at all.

"_This is useless_", Draconis hissed and flipped her off the ground, towards the clean walls. Victoria shifted her weight so that the impact was between her back and the wall, instead of her head and the wall.

"_Every second you wait, one of your friends will die_."

"If I believe the crap you tell me, I'd have to listen to every idiot", Victoria scoffed picking herself up. There was dull ringing sound in her ear and her back felt on fire, but she stood up tall.

Draconis shifted his eyes suddenly and said, "_Alonzo was just killed._"

* * *

The tuxedo tom looked carefully at Coricopat and then whispered, "Forgive me this."

Without warning he struck the mystical tom on the head with all his might, rendering him unconscious.

"Let's go", Quaxo said to Alonzo and Cassandra, "Or else I'm going to knock both of you out cold and take you with me anyway."

"We're already in enough trouble, this gives us a chance", Cassandra murmured dreamily and Alonzo agreed.

The two stood up and got out of the cell with Meg rushing them towards the other exit on the opposite side of the dungeon. Quaxo, meanwhile, hoisted Coricopat up, a difficult task for one so small, and carried him away.

* * *

"You're lying", Victoria answered, with a confident grin, "If he was dead, I'd know it."

"_Really_", Draconis pondered, sarcastically, it was a statement not a question.

"Of course, because if Alonzo had died, Quaxo would have penetrated my mind and told me so", the white queen smiled. She wasn't really sure of that, but Draconis didn't need to know. Besides, if they had kept Alonzo alive for this long, they wouldn't just kill him off with a simple snap.

"_I see, nothing escapes your attention_", Draconis drawled, and even though it sounded sarcastic, there was a hidden compliment somewhere inside.

* * *

Meg panted, "Good, they can't get us anymore."

She had sealed the exit after Quaxo and Coricopat had come through the doorway.

"What now?"

"Kassian, we have to find Kassian."

* * *

Electra stood tense in the room, not wanting to make a single movement in case she would overlook some small detail. The black, sinewy tom in front of her just grinned without worry.

Suddenly a loud sound echoed through the chamber and a queen with red and gold fur stuck her head through a newly made hole.

"Sorry about that, Kassian, but we're now helping them", the queen shouted loudly at him. Kassian furrowed his eyebrow, shrugged, and muttered something.

"Didn't you say you'd follow anywhere?" The dark tabby's voice was quiet, all traces of playfulness, mocking and distress gone. It sounded hollow and foreign, even to herself.

"Of course", Kassian whispered with a slight smile, "When you're in love that's the only thing you can do."

"Did you hear me, you little twerp?"

"Yeah, I'm coming, Megami!"

Meg twitched and said, "Don't call me that!"

* * *

"Next stop, Draconis", Kassian sputtered happily while leading them through the infinite cavern of tunnels that seemed to lead to nowhere in particular.

"Why do you sound so happy while saying that?"

"Well, you see Electra, my dear", Kassian started, earning himself two hard glares and a whack upside the head, "As I was saying, I've always wanted to take on Draconis."

"Don't get carried away", Meg whispered, "We're not here to have fun."

"Yeah, whatever", the black tom sneered, "I just want to show that sneaky little bastard who the boss is."

"Stop trying to sound tough, you sound stupid", Megami growled, getting more and more annoyed by the second.

"Yes, Mom."

WHACK!

* * *

"Bring it", Victoria gestured for him to come forward, "Or are you already tired?"

Draconis smiled slowly, stretching his face muscles and said, "_Tired? Shouldn't I be asking that question to you?_"

"I bet you're one of those guys who are all talk and no skill", Victoria stuck her chin up defiantly, hoping Draconis would attack. The white queen's wish was granted as the silver tom lunged at her and the two were sent flying together.

Victoria caught the silver tom unaware and kicked him in the stomach so hard that he almost spit out blood. Draconis pushed himself up and charged at her. Victoria stood there, calm as ever, not in the slight bit worried about the tom charging straight at her.

"Hey, Little Brother, what are doing?"

Draconis' eyes widened as he saw the figure standing in front of him, holding his outstretched paw inches away from the defenders face.

"_Kassian_", Draconis practically spat out, "_So I guess you're still being the little lost puppy as always_."

"They're brothers", Victoria felt the words roll off her tongue oddly, as if the statement was false. Meg nodded lazily and pointed to both of their fur coats. Both had the sleek, shiny and smooth coat of one pure color.

"Damn, that's who he looked like", Electra finally understood why fighting with Kassian seemed awkward.

"Hey, not true, but I'd make one damn cute puppy, wouldn't I?" Kassian's sloppy grin was a polar opposite to Draconis' slight scowl. With the two of them standing in the middle of the room, glaring each other down, Electra could see they were exact opposites and yet the same. Kassian was happy, carefree and had a cheerful voice, while Draconis was hostile, yet indifferent and had a silken, patronizing voice. But when they looked at each other, the determination was the same.

"_You are about as worthy as a Pollicle anyway_", Draconis said, but the tone was as if he was giving out a compliment. The tension increased between the two brothers.

"Care to test that theory?"

"No one is going to test anything", a new voice interrupted before anything happened. Electra turned in surprise and faint recognition.

"Isn't that right, Draconis?"

Macavity, the Lord of the South, was standing at the far end of the room, having mysteriously appeared. His ginger fur was as wild as ever and the maniac grin that he had was uncomfortable, to say at the least.

"_Of course_", Draconis turned to Macavity and sort of bowed hastily.

"Who's the lost puppy now?" Kassian taunted with a broad smile on his face as Meg tugged at his collar.

"You're in no position to say anything", Macavity spat in contempt, then suddenly he smiled, "But you know, I'm very surprised, Megami."

Meg paled suddenly and whispered, "Don't you dare."

"I feel left out", Alonzo muttered to Cassandra as a light joke. Cassandra supported Alonzo against her side as Quaxo put Coricopat gently to the ground. Electra and Victoria stood stock still, watching every move of the four Crime Lords.

"Dear Kassian, we all know why you're here, but truly you shouldn't bother with all this difficulty", Macavity put on a sympathetic face and continued, "I mean, it's obvious that she doesn't feel anything for you."

Kassian stood there, without his usual smile and narrowed his eyes slowly. Behind him, Meg tugged at his arm harder trying to get him to run away with the Jellicles.

"As much as I would love to hear you spout your stupid lies, I have a request", Kassian managed to say with a level voice.

"A request?"

"Yes."

"What would that request be?" Macavity gestured all around the room as if he was asking everyone if they knew what the request was.

"Let them go, they're obviously not going to join us", Kassian said and continued, "Furthermore, we're not getting anywhere just convincing them."

"But I hate happy endings", Macavity smiled and sighed, "And, of course they're not going to join _us_."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't like being grouped with you and you've been shirking your duties as Lord of the West", Macavity raised his eyebrows knowing that everyone would catch on to his meaning.

"That's all very, very, very interesting", Meg rushed in and said, "So we'll be leaving now."

Meg turned and motioned for the Jellicles to go towards a certain tunnel. Hesitantly, they obeyed, but Macavity seemed intent on saying something.

"Kassian, haven't you wondered where Meg was all those times you said she was missing?"

Kassian stopped dead in his tracks at this and Megami pulled harder at him, "Don't listen to him. We've got to go."

"She was with me."

Meg closed her eyes slowly and painfully as Kassian took in this information. Victoria put her paws in the air and exclaimed, "What is this? A soap opera?"

"Macavity, that was a cheap try at my loyalty and love for Megami. You of all cats should know that love isn't something that easily broken and tarnished", Kassian finished impressively and turned to leave. Electra was sure that Macavity wouldn't try to go after them, now that it was roughly 6 against 2, but once again, Macavity proved her wrong.

"Don't turn from me, Megami!"

Macavity made a ferocious lunge at the queen that probably would have killed her from the inner energy he gathered in his paws, but at the last second someone intervened.

"No!"

Electra swung around in surprise to see blood dripping down Macavity's paw and arm. His right paw and arm were halfway through Kassian's chest and body.

"Oh…Everlasting Cat", Electra's eyes widened at the bloody scene in front of her. Victoria fell to the ground shaky from surprise and fear. Even Macavity looked a little surprised at what was in front of him.

"K-Ka", Meg stuttered looking at the tom standing directly in front of her. He had taken the blow meant for her, so she was guilty as well. "Kassian."

The ginger tom looked away and pulled his paw out from the black tom's body slowly. A sickening, squelching noise could be heard as he withdrew from Kassian. Blood dripped.

"Looks like you really were a fool, Kassian. You know I would have spared you, since you were my best friend once", Macavity commented indifferently as Kassian fell to the ground, blood splattering everywhere. Meg crouched down with a low alarmed cry and checked on him.

Macavity motioned Draconis towards him and said, "It seems the plans have changed, but we'll prevail in the end. Do you remember the prophecy, Alonzo?"

Alonzo looked up with a fresh look in his eyes, "That prophecy might come true one day, but while I'm alive, it won't happen."

"What prophecy?" Victoria, always the curious one, stepped closer to Alonzo with an intent look on her face.

"They haven't told you?"

The white queen turned to Macavity with an angry expression, "No."

"Go back and ask to see it. I'm sure they won't deny you after having brought Alonzo back."

The ginger tom and his fellow Crime Lord left the vast dark hall swaying to an evil beat only they could hear.

Meg was crying now and the tears were falling onto Kassian's slowly heaving chest.

"Don't cry, my goddess", Kassian's voice was faint and hoarse, it seemed to be growing weaker with him.

"I'm so sorry! I've been so useless and now this", Megami hugged his body closer to hers.

"Even if I couldn't have your love in this lifetime, I will wait for one cycle in which we can both love each other", Kassian smiled sadly and whispered, "This love story of ours is far from over, Megami."

"Don't put it like that, Kassian."

But he hadn't heard.

Meg swallowed hard.

She didn't even get to say goodbye or farewell.

But she swooped down and kissed him slowly on his lips.

_I wish it was you that I had loved from the start_.

* * *

Megami could not be convinced to leave, so the Jellicles left without her, feeling something heavy in their hearts. The group walked towards the Junkyard at a snail pace, but all of them wanted to return as quickly as possible. Darkness fell too early and weariness tugged each one of them down to the ground.

_

* * *

November 10__th_

Finally, after what had felt like a million years, but in reality only 3 days, the Jellicles returned to the Junkyard. The gate was barred shut and no Henchrats were in sight.

"Hello?"

After a moment's silence, a weary voice called back, "I'm afraid that we are not accepting visitors at this time."

"Not even fellow Junkyard Jellicles?"

The gate creaked open slowly as if the gatekeeper was being careful of dangerous animals.

"Alonzo!"

"Hey, Munkustrap."

"Everlasting Cat, come in, all of you!"

* * *

Electra and Victoria recounted their entire tale to Old Deuteronomy and the Jellicles with full detail and excitement. The Jellicles all listened, rapt with interest until the very end.

"I'm just glad you're all back, safe and sound", Old Deuteronomy said, then muttered, "But it is sad to hear, even though he betrayed us, that Kassian has died."

Suddenly, from the side a voice called for another's.

"Cori!"

It seemed that Tantomile had been asleep when they had arrived.

"Tanto", Coricopat's voice was gravelly with relief when he saw his twin sister. The two ran to embrace each other. When the two touched, however, a glow enveloped both of them and grew brighter than the sun.

Then, both of them started to speak in soft, hushed tones.

_Together they stand, four strong._

_The fall of the Fon won't be long._

_Looking towards the streaked sky,_

_The Guardians of weak will thus die._

Old Deuteronomy, Alonzo and Munkustrap all sat up looking at the twins frightfully.

_One, the Stander of in between._

_Two, the One who is never seen._

_Three, whom, but our kind Queen?_

_Four, oh ever Serene._

Alonzo tried to interrupt, but Old Deuteronomy held him back and gave him a stern look that stopped all thoughts of his. The rest of the Jellicles watched the twins speak of a rather shabby poem.

_Whose words are these? I think I know._

_With wisdom yet, the last Goddess, our foe._

The twins shuddered abruptly and the glow faded slowly away until it seemed completely normal again.

"What happened?"

"Everyone, please be quiet", Old Deuteronomy called and held his arms out, "The truth should be told. Now is the moment."

The Jellicles turned to their Jellicles Leader, all wondering what he had to say.

"From as long as I can remember, we always have had that prophecy hanging over our heads. The prophecy was spoken so long ago that no one knows for sure who said the words. But the original prophecy ran much the same, but with two last lines:

_When spoken again, we shall know,_

_That the time has come, for the final blow._"

The Jellicles began to murmur to one another. What did final blow mean? Did it mean they were going to die?

"Please", Old Deuteronomy called and waited for the noise to fall down, "But the meaning of this prophecy is very vague and considered to be a myth."

"Then why did Coricopat and Tantomile speak of it?"

"I suppose it isn't a myth", Old Deuteronomy spoke obviously, "But prophecies can be countered."

"By what?"

"Victoria, they can be countered with will, faith, and love", the Jellicles Leader had spoken.

* * *

"You know", Electra said to the Fantastic Four, "The prophecy kind of sounded like…"

"Like what?"

"Like…us", Electra stuttered, hoping she didn't sound silly, but Victoria sat up straight.

"You're right!"

Etcetera scratched her head sheepishly, "Did your adventure make you guys even smarter are something?"

"Or just excited", Jemima winked mischievously at her friend next to her.

"Nevermind then", Electra grumbled, "So what happened while we were gone?"

"It was only three days", Jemima reminded them, but they all sensed Jemima was hiding something.

"What happened this time, Jemima?"

"Nothing!"

Etcetera rolled her eyes, "Come on, tell them or I'll do it."

"I'm…going out with…", Jemima started, then stopped and started and stopped.

"Well?"

"She's having a fling with Tugger", Etcetera was blunt and straight to the point. Oddly enough, Electra noticed, she wasn't even mad at Jemima for "stealing" Tugger or something.

"Etcetera!"

"It's true."

"Wow, Jemima", Victoria had a sly smile on her face.

"What?"

"I didn't know you had a fetish for older toms", Victoria snickered as Jemima blushed hard and continued, "I hear Old Deuteronomy's still single."

"Vicky!"

* * *

But Electra had an odd feeling of the prophecy. It was about the Fantastic Four! But it didn't make sense.

_Together they stand, four strong._

_The fall of the Fon won't be long_.

Four strong, could easily mean the Four Lords of Crime, but the Fantastic Four as well. The Fon, as Old Deuteronomy had once explained, were ancient warriors dedicated to protecting the weak. If the four were going to cause the fall of the Fon, then it was logically the Four Lords of Crime.

_One, the Stander of in between._

_Two, the One who is never seen._

_Three, whom, but our kind Queen?_

_Four, oh ever Serene._

Electra skipped one part, and went to the list of four. One, was a stander of in between. That didn't make sense whatsoever, but it was fine. Two, the One who is never seen. That could easily be her or Etcetera. Three, a kind queen, Etcetera or Jemima. Four, someone ever serene. Jemima.

If the prophecy was about the Fantastic Four, then by process of elimination, the stander of in between was Victoria.

The rest didn't matter, because the prophecy was implying that the Fantastic Four was going to betray the Junkyard and cause the fall of the Guardians of Weak.

Did it mean that the Fantastic Four might just be the bane of the Jellicles?

**It was rushed. This probably would have been 1,000 words longer if I had taken the time. If I ever re-edit these chapters, it will be much longer. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter and if you did, please review! If there is something that needs to be fixed, please tell me as well! Thanks once again for reading this far.**

**P.S. Celebration for me! 1,000 hits has been reached! Amazing! I didn't think this was going to be that popular...  
**


	13. Intermission I

**A/N: I know it's been quite awhile since I last updated. And I am going to focus on my other stories, because a bunch of them need to be completed. After I have finished those, I'd like to rewrite some parts of this story. It's going to be a major rewrite and parts of the plot might change. So, just keep that in mind. This chapter is short, because I'm going to edit it again later anyway.**

**I hope people are still reading and if you are, thank you so much!**

**HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**

**To my awesomely awesomest awesome reviewers:**

**To Jellicle-Wishes: Thank you so much! I wrote the poem myself. :D HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**

**To Malurina: I don't really like the prophecy, but thank you so much! I try to work on these chapters, thanks once again. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**

**To musicgal3: Sorry this update took so long....:( But here's the next chapter, so read on! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**

**To mistofan101: Don't know if you're at this point yet, but thanks for reviewing! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!**

**Note: HAPPPPPPPYYYYY HOOOLLLLIIIDDDAAAYYYSSS!!!!! 0.0**

* * *

As if everything in the past few days hadn't been stressful enough and now there was this ominous prophecy hanging over their heads. However, prophecies didn't always come true and even Old Deuteronomy had said that prophecies could be countered. Although the way he had put it made it sound awfully corny...

Electra didn't want to believe the prophecy so she convinced herself that it was probably a coincidence. It was nothing that needed to be worried over.

_

* * *

November 18th_

"You know...", Victoria sighed as the Fantastic Four turned their attention to her, "...I mean, I'm totally over Plato and stuff, but I wonder where he is. Do you guys think...he's...okay?"

"Plato's probably fine. You know how stubborn toms can be", Etcetera smiled kindly at her friend. It was obvious that Victoria was still in denial over Plato and her feelings towards him. Electra supposed that she wouldn't be over him for quite awhile, but when she met someone she truly loved, Plato would be nowhere in her mind.

"Yeah, the jackass will probably show up one day", Victoria sighed, "And then I'll yell at him and smack him around."

That got a smile from all of them.

_

* * *

November 23rd_

A young tom with a brooding expression limped down the alleys with a vague sense of direction guiding him. He looked rather tired and sickly, and quite frankly he wasn't feeling too great. After three painful steps, the tom collapsed against a tall, sturdy wooden door. The walls around it stretched far around in a circle, protecting whatever was within. Taking his battered paw, the young tom curled it into a fist and feably knocked on the wooden gate in front of him. A hollow thumping noise echoed back to him as he waited.

"This is the Junkyard, the Safehouse for all those in need and true to heart. State your name and purpose, please", a familiar voice called out. He inhaled deeply, wincing as his chest contracted with sharp bursts of pain.

"I...P-Plato. H-H-Help...", the tom answered, but his trip proved too burdening and he fell to the ground, too tired to stand anymore. As the blackness of sleep claimed him, he distantly heard the sound of a gate creaking open followed by exclamations of surprise.

In no time at all, the majority of the Jellicles knew that Plato, the traitor, was back. The said tom was currently inside Old Deuteronomy's personal den being treated by a famous veterinarian. It was an sight to see the veterinarian in the Junkyard, for she was in fact a rat. On most occasions, Pouncival or some other hyperactive cat would have already be scarfing down the rat, but she was the best healer in possibly all of England. The Jellicles had a pact with her: As long as she helped them, they would not hurt her or her family and friends.

* * *

"So....", Electra wasn't sure how to start a conversation about Plato without accidentally making Victoria upset.

Etcetera, however, had no problem with it, "What do you guys think will happen to Plato?"

The dark tabby's eyes widened in surprise and quickly snuck a glance at a certain white queen.

"Who knows?" Victoria was faking nonchalance at this point, Electra was sure of it.

"I think...", Jemima began, as her friends turned to her, for she had been quiet for awhile now, "...Old Deuteronomy will accept him back because in his eyes everyone deserves a second chance. Besides Plato didn't really have much of a choice, did he?"

"Not really, since-", Etcetera started with a silly grin, but Victoria cut through.

"One always has a choice", the white queen got up with a slightly upset expression and choked out, "I'm g-going for some r-r-r..."

Electra guessed that she had been saying, "rest", but the rest was drowned out by her flooding tears. Victoria ran off before anyone could stop her.

Both Jemima and Etcetera got up to chase after her, but Electra reached out one paw.

"I think she needs to be alone for a few minutes."

_

* * *

November 24th_

_I'm alive._

_I'm not dead._

_Where am I?_

Plato's vision cleared steadily and he tried sitting up, but found himself unable to for some odd reason. Before his panic set in, he felt a large comforting paw on his shoulder. Looking up he saw that Old Deuteronomy was by his side with a kind smile on his face.

The tom rasped out, "What's happened?"

"You were found collapsed outside the Junkyard Gate", Old Deuteronomy whispered soothingly. "We never abandon a hurt cat."

"I'm.....I'm so sorry", Plato whispered so quietly that he wasn't sure he had said anything.

Apparently Old Deuteronomy hadn't heard anything, so Plato repeated himself, "I'm sorry."

The Jellicle Leader was a little shocked that Plato would apologize. "It's alright."

"No it's not. I betrayed everyone's trust", he hissed, "If you would give me a second chance, I will prove that I can be a good Jellicle. Please, just a chance?"

Plato looked up at Old Deuteronomy with pleading eyes.

"You're still young ", the Jellicle Leader answered quietly. "And I strongly believe in second chances."

The edge of Plato's mouth quirked into a small smile as he said, "You'll really accept me?"

"Of course, Plato", Old Deuteronomy nodded. "But I want you to remember that most aren't as forgiving as me. For awhile many of the Jellicles won't trust you, so you'll have to earn it."

"I understand", Plato answered honestly.

"We also have another important matter to discuss. You're going to be 14 next year, correct?"

"Correct."

* * *

Electra had a very small birthday party and she had insisted that only her three closest friends attend. The party had been one of the best times of her life, but all good things come to an end. Night had fallen on the Junkyard and Electra decided that it was a good day for a stroll in the moonlight.

Moon Pond was as tranquil as ever with the full moon's reflection wavering slightly on its waters.

A rustling sound came from behind her and she whirled around, praying it wasn't Plato. The Everlasting Cat must have been listening, for the Jellicle behind her was not Plato.

"Would you like to know more of the prophecy?" Alonzo was sitting quite still with a solemn expression on his face.

"Sure?" _What is he doing here?_

"So would I", Alonzo mused with a slight grin, reminding Electra of how he used to be before the kidnapping. "I'm not here to talk about the prophecy actually. I'd like to thank you for rescuing me from that awful dungeon."

"It's nothing", Electra dismissed it quickly.

"And...I'd like to apologize for the way I...used...Jemima", the black and white tom paused as the gentle wind lifted his fur this way and that.

The dark tabby was genuinely surprised and asked, "What do you mean?"

"I couldn't help it", Alonzo sighed, "Cassandra and I had a little fight, like we always do, and as I took a walk in the night to soothe my anger, I saw her. She was sitting on the trunk of the car just gazing at the moon with a calm face. At that moment, she was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen and I wanted her to belong to me."

Electra stood still, wondering why he was telling this to her. Was he trying to make some point?

"When I was in that deep dungeon, rotting away in self-misery, the only things I could think of were Cassandra and Jemima. I realized then that I love them both equally, but only Cassandra would be truly happy with me. Jemima would be depressed and want something better", Alonzo paused for a moment before adding with a slight grin, "Besides, I hear she's got herself into a huge mess with Tugger."

Electra could tell that his last statement was an attempt to distract her from his apology. For some reasons, toms always hated to apologize and be all sentimental.

"Yeah", the dark tabby grinned, "Bombalurina's pretty mad, but I think she'll get over it."

"Well it's her best friend's little sister", Alonzo chuckled absently, "And it's not like she has any claim over Tugger anyway."

Electra laughed and Alonzo joined in. After their laughter subsided, Alonzo asked, "You know what's going to happen on New Year's, don't you?"

"New Year's?"

Alonzo whispered, "I'm not supposed to say this, in fact no one is, but the year that you'll turn 14 something big happens. For you, it's next year."

"What happens?"

"Well, you'll leave on New Year's for extra instruction from a specific teacher and return the year you turn 16", Alonzo explained patiently, "It's an old custom, but Old Deuteronomy is adamant that the younger kittens know nothing about this."

"Extra instruction?"

"Like, for a career. Since I wanted to become Jellicle Protector one day, I went off to learn about the various safety procedures and fighting maneuvers." Alonzo looked at the ground and kicked at a pile of leaves.

Electra looked down and said, "Why wouldn't they want us to know about it?"

"Because", Alonzo continued slowly, "If you knew about it, you would try harder to become something you aren't. If you wanted to be a Railway Cat, like your father, you'd wake early each morning and show particular interest in engines, etc. But if that's not what you're really like, then the Railroads aren't for you. Does that make sense?"

"On some degree, yeah", the dark tabby pondered it.

"Do you have any idea what kind of extra training you want?"

Electra thought about that for awhile before answering as honestly as possible, "I don't know."

"That's fine", Alonzo smiled, "No one ever knows."

_

* * *

November 25th_

If someone were to ask the Fantastic Four if they were avoiding Plato, all four would simultaneously answer, "No". But only two of them would be telling the truth.

Victoria was even more agitated than before now that Plato was awake and spent all day sulking in her den, afraid of what might happen. Both Etcetera and Jemima had failed in trying to get her to come out of the den, so Electra didn't see the point in her going and opening old wounds.

The dark tabby had also refrained from telling anyone else about the "extra instruction" stuff. Old Deuteronomy probably wouldn't be too pleased with either her or Alonzo.

"What do I want to do with my life?" Her thoughts spoken aloud sounded foolish, even kittenish. "What do I want?"

_What do I want? I want...to be happy? To go places and see things? I want so much. I want to love, hate, see, smell, hear, taste and feel the world all around me. Isn't that what I want?_

"What _do_ I want?"

"Coconut juice", a strangely familiar voice answered her question.

"What?" Electra's eyes snapped open to see Pouncival leaning against her with a huge grin.

"Coconut juice", he repeated, "That's probably want you want."

"What the?"

"Come on, you've never tried coconut juice?"

Electra crossed her arms and look at him sternly, "You're mocking me."

"No, really?" Pouncival copied her stance and answered sarcastically.

"Ugh, you're impossible", Electra turned away and left. Pouncival stared after her and laughed quietly to himself. _She doesn't know what she wants._

**Thank you so much for reading! And please review? ^_^**

**Undergoing rewrite, so won't be updating for awhile...sorry. But please review anyway. ^_^**


	14. Intermission II

**A/N: If any readers have stuck around, once again many thanks. A combination of reviewers helped me realize that some people do enjoy my writing (who knows why) and that it is something that I should continue doing. My sincerest apologies once again. Please read and my proper apology is this 4,125 word long chapter.**

**The story seems to be slowing down in this chapter, but this is because I am preparing for a time skip. I am also postponing the rewrite until later. **

**To my amazing reviewers, who never disappoint:**

**To xx-jenii-xx: Sorry for the wait and here is the next chapter. Thank you for reviewing and I hope you're still around to read this.**

**To Jellicle-Wishes: Coconut juice was just a witty response :) Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**To NESSAANCALIME6913: Lol, thank you very much. Please enjoy.**

**To Roselna: I probably would be walking around dazed too. =P Pouncival/Electra is pretty cute, huh? Well, I hope you're around to read this, so please enjoy.**

**To Yay!CoriIsn'tDead!: You're one of the main reasons I updated, so I must thank you too. I think Jemima/Coricopat is pretty cute and thank you once again for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**Note: If some of the parts seem choppy, please forgive me, I was a little distracted while writing this.**

_

* * *

December 1st_

Electra had seen Plato and they had even exchanged several glances, but nothing beyond that. At times she wished that he would say something, so that the inevitable would finally occur and she would have the chance to see if he was sincere in changing. But the dark tabby didn't want to be the one to initiate conversation.

She was also worried for Victoria, who wasn't eating and wasn't sleeping. Dark rings of tired days formed around her eyes and she grew thinner and thinner. Plato was affecting the white queen too deeply and Electra didn't want to hurt her friend more than necessary.

As the days dragged on and Electra realized that New Year's was coming, she found herself deep in thought. Etcetera complained that the Fantastic Four wasn't fantastic anymore since Victoria was sulking, Electra was out of it and Jemima was always depressed. Perhaps, Electra thought, they were growing apart from each other. At that very moment, the dark tabby began to fervently wish that things would go back to the way they were. Victoria would become happy again, Jemima would be innocent and funny, Etcetera would be less whiny and...

"If you close your eyes hard enough, maybe you'll see stars", a joking voice cut right through her thoughts.

Electra opened her eyes and was shocked to find Tumble staring down at her. "Hey there, stranger."

"It's been quite awhile since we've last talked, hasn't it?" The tom sat down next to her without any invitation.

"I suppose", she answered quietly. "It has been a long time."

"If you're regretting the past", Tumblebrutus whispered, "Don't try. We're never going back to the way it was. Look ahead, walk forward and you won't be afraid of anything. Tomorrow is simply another day."

Electra's eyes widened at his short speech and thought on it.

"Thank you, Tumble. That's just what I needed."

_

* * *

_

_December 5th_

Electra walked by "Moon Pond" once again, wondering how many times ponds had brought her bad luck and wondering why she kept returning. Maybe she was returning because she was hoping that a certain tom would walk by and stop and talk and apologize. Who was she kidding? Plato would never apologize and he would never even-

"Don't fall in, being wet isn't much fun."

"Plato?" Electra whirled around, half-expecting the tom, half-expecting someone else.

It wasn't him.

"Do I look like Plato?"

The dark tabby's eyes narrowed as she hissed, "Admetus."

"Yep, that's me", he said and chuckled quietly to himself.

Electra rolled her eyes, this was really the last thing she needed. Apparently, Admetus wasn't the brightest bulb because he continued, "Plato is a traitor and he left you and Victoria, yet both of you are still thinking about him. Everyone says how smart you two are, but if you guys can't even realize that he's not what you thought he was, then you're idiots."

Suddenly she rushed towards the tom and slapped him across the cheek. Life seemed to slow down as his face turned to the side, but she was surprised to find that he was still calm.

"We know he's not who we thought he was!" Electra yelled at him angrily. "He's a stupid tom and he betrayed everyone! He didn't just betray me and Victoria, he betrayed all of us. But it's who he is and I am going to accept that."

"Accept it? You think this is accepting it? Accepting would be going up to him and saying, 'Plato, we both know what a prick you are, but let's start over again.' You're not doing that, you're standing here and pining after him", Admetus grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

Electra blinked once and then twice. Was this really what was happening? She was avoiding Plato because she didn't want to accept the facts. She was avoiding him so that she could avoid her feelings. But it wasn't working.

"Admetus", she whispered. "You might be right and that thought kinda scares me."

He grinned and said, "Welcome back, Electra."

_

* * *

_

_December 6th_

She did not delay and headed towards Plato the very next day. The moment he saw her, he began to turn around, expecting her to change course and avoid him as she had in the past, but Electra steeled herself and walked forward with a defiant air about her.

"Plato."

The tom in question looked at her in disbelief and replied, "Electra."

She was glad that they were alone because if others had been around, she might have lost her courage by this point. Inhaling deeply, she said, "Plato, we both know what happened and we both know that the past cannot be changed."

"Yes..."

"You're starting over as a Jellicle and so I want us to start over too", she breathed faintly, "Hello, my name is Electra, nice to meet you."

Plato looked half amused and half confused, but replied in response, "My name is Plato and I enjoy siting by ponds. Nice to meet you too."

They shook paws and Electra almost laughed at the absurdity of his statement. Faintly they both heard Tumblebrutus calling Plato's name and so they parted. As Plato left, Electra thought about thanking Admetus and how awkward that situation would be.

* * *

_December 10th_

The next step, Electra realized, was to restore Victoria to normality and to do that, tears would have to be shed. The dark tabby walked into the dark and gloomy den Victoria haunted so often now. Unsurprisingly, the white queen was laying in the middle just staring at nothing.

"Victoria", her voice sounded cold even to herself.

Her friend looked up slowly with dead eyes and whispered, "Electra."

Electra walked forward and sat down in front of Victoria and hissed, "Victoria, you're wasting away."

"Then let me waste", the older queen said. "Let me fade to nothing."

"I cannot even call you Victoria anymore", Electra said, her voice distant and unattached. "You are someone else. Victoria would never sit in a den, sulking and wasting her days."

"Plato is back", she whispered.

The dark tabby laughed, "And so what? Victoria would never hide away from anything. If someone hurt her, she would've gone and made him apologize over and over. But you are not Victoria. You are a white queen who spends her days being pathetic and hiding from the truth. Plato didn't love you and he didn't love me."

"Why are you saying this?" Victoria began to sob quietly. "Please stop it!"

Electra forced herself to remain calm and continued, "You're hiding from the truth! You're hiding from everyone! I know, the real Victoria is still inside you. I know, that she will awaken again and when she does, I also know, that she will not lay around pathetically."

For a minute or two, Electra sat there just watching her friend cry. Then the dark tabby stood up and began to leave.

"Leccy", Victoria sobbed and Electra turned around in surprise. She had called her that nickname once, a long time ago, an age ago it seemed. Electra had protested it, but Victoria used it whenever she wanted to be playful. Right now, she supposed Victoria had said it, because she also missed the good old days.

"Leccy", the white queen repeated, "I don't know what to do."

"Then let me help you."

_

* * *

December 16th_

Electra managed to convince Victoria that she should confront Plato and actually live again. For the next few days, Victoria lived normally once again and she ate, drank and even laughed. The color came back to her face and she began to fill out again. Although she was still a little on the thin side, Victoria looked every bit as beautiful as she had before.

"Victoria, today is the day", Electra said with a note of finality.

The white queen turned to her with downcast eyes and whispered, "I don't think I'm ready."

"You'll never be ready", the dark tabby answered and gently reminded her, "If you stall, you'll never say what needs to be said either."

"What if I say the wrong thing? What if I-?"

Electra laughed loudly and said, "Victoria, you've done nothing wrong. If anyone should be worrying about this conversation, it should be Plato. You are smart, beautiful and amazing. Everyone envies you, so show Plato that you are all those things. Show him what he missed and show him his wrongs."

The fire in Victoria's soul began to burn again and her eyes lit up with power.

The white queen smiled and said, "I will do it."

* * *

"Plato."

The former traitor turned to Victoria with hooded eyes and a familiar scorning expression, but his eyes suddenly softened.

"Victoria", he whispered, "You've finally come."

_He's been expecting this talk,_ Victoria realized, but she didn't hesitate any longer.

"I wouldn't say you betrayed us exactly...", she spoke confidently, "...since you were obeying someone who was as close as a father to you. But I do consider all those promises and lies you told me while we were dating, well, I consider them to be an ultimate betrayal of my trust."

Plato looked at her and whispered, "I might have deceived you, but I had to."

"Maybe you did and maybe you didn't", Victoria rapped out and surprisingly Plato recoiled as if he had been slapped. "It doesn't matter why you did it."

"Yet you have a point to make?"

"What you did was wrong, no matter how you look at it and even the best reason doesn't suffice", she said, "Even from your viewpoint, you know what you did was wrong. You used my best friend and me."

Plato stared at her heavily for a moment before answering, "It was wrong, I do admit it."

When nothing more was said Victoria pressed on, "That's it? You just say, 'Oh I was wrong', and nothing else?"

"What else do you want me to say?"

"I don't know, maybe apologize or something!" Victoria couldn't believe his nerve.

"I was wrong and I shouldn't have done it. I hope you accept my apology", Plato said evenly, looking her straight in the eyes.

The white queen blinked hard and shouted, "Apologies usually contain the words, 'I'm sorry'."

"But I'm not sorry", Plato whispered. "I'm not sorry for any of it."

"You know it was wrong and you aren't sorry for any of it?!" Victoria couldn't believe it.

Plato smiled and said, "No, because I had the chance to be with you and you loved me."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm not sorry, because I was happy to be with you. I'm not sorry for dating you", Plato clarified.

Victoria was still confused. Was Plato saying that dating had been real? "Are you saying that you were happy while we dated?"

"In a way, yes", he answered, his expression still cool.

"Are you saying that you liked me?" Her breath hitched at the thought.

Plato's slight smile dropped into a frown as he answered, "I think I did."

Victoria knew she shouldn't ask the next logical question, but her mouth blurted it out before she could stop, "Do you still like me?"

A heavy and depressing silence was layed down on the pair as she waited for an answer.

"Victoria", Plato breathed. "I don't love easily."

"It's a yes or no question, Plato."

"I think I still love you", he whispered quietly.

Victoria's eyes watered suddenly and she said, "Then why did you go through with it?"

"I thought that if you joined Macavity, we could really be together", Plato looked down, as if embarrassed, "I wanted something more to happen, I wanted our relationship to have no boundaries."

"Why did you say that you never loved me then?" She needed to know, her life seemed to hang off of his every word.

Plato looked up and surprisingly his eyes were wet too. "I said it so that you would let me go. At that point, I was sure I'd be killed."

Victoria touched his shoulder gently and whispered, "Right now, I can't love you. Loving you hurts too much and I don't think I can do it again. But in a few months, maybe we can start over."

He put his paw over hers and whispered, "Then it's a deal."

_

* * *

December 20th_

It was Jemima's birthday, but there was no celebration. Tugger had insisted that the two of them go out alone for her birthday and Jemima couldn't say no to him.

Electra realized that New Year's was descending on them faster than ever, but only she knew the importance of the date. What was she going to do? Would they decide that she really was suited for the Railroads after all? What if her father was disappointed? She hadn't thought about her parents in a long time. Were they still apart?

A few days before, Victoria had told her what had happened during her talk with Plato. It was surprising for her, to say at the least.

"Have you seen Tugger around?" Bombalurina interrupted her thoughts (it seemed to happen very often that someone would cut through her line of thought).

The dark tabby blinked slowly and answered, "I saw him this morning."

"Do you know where he is now?" Obviously, the beautiful scarlet queen wanted his attention.

Electra frowned and replied, "He's not in the Junkyard."

"Oh I see", Bomba hissed scornfully. "He's with _her_."

"Well it's her birthday today", Electra defended Tugger.

Bomba huffed a long breath and laughed, "Well we'll see how long Jemima lasts with him."

"What do you mean by that, Bombalurina?" The dark tabby chased after her with determination. Jemima was _her friend_ and if she could help her in any way...

The scarlet queen laughed and spat, "Tugger doesn't care about queens. If he sees a pretty face, he'll chase after it, but soon he gets tired of it and dumps her. Then the vicious cycle begins all over again."

"Are you saying this from experience?"

Bombalurina looked at her straight in the eye, with a startling amount of bravery and said, "Hell yes, but I love Tugger for all his wrongs and rights. Jemima will never understand him the way I do."

Electra licked her lips nervously and whispered, "Will Jemima get hurt then?"

"Of course", Bombalurina laughed, "Tugger hurts all of the queens and he picks us off one by one."

"Tugger isn't like that, Bomba", the dark tabby tried to protest.

The scarlet queen snorted, "I'll let you find out by yourself then."

* * *

When Jemima hadn't returned after midnight, Electra went out of her den and towards the T.S.E. 1 car, where she guessed her friend would be. Her intuition was correct and the calico really was there.

"Jemima", Electra called quietly. The calico turned in surprise and gave a timid smile. The dark tabby climbed up and sat next to her.

"Happy Birthday."

"Thanks, Electra", Jemima whispered.

Electra turned to her and said, "I'm worried about you."

"Why?"

She sighed, "Because you've been quieter than usual lately and I've been hearing things."

"Hearing what? That Tugger is going to tire of me and dump me?"

Electra's eyes widened, "You know then."

"Of course I know, Bomba and Deme tell me it every single day", Jemima said, her voice as innocent as ever.

"And yet you still are with Tugger?" _This doesn't make sense. Why would Jemima continue to go with Tugger even if she knows he'll end up hurting her?_

"You're smart, Electra", the calico whispered.

The dark tabby's eye twitched as she said, "You don't think Tugger will hurt you?"

"I don't think he will", she confirmed, "He told me that he's never felt so happy before in his life."

"Well, why have you been so depressed then?"

Jemima looked at her sadly and said, "Everyone is expecting Tugger to let me down and hurt me. The more people say it, the sadder I get."

_Oh they're making her feel that it really is gonna happen and that she was wrong about him._

"It makes me so sad that people misunderstand him", she continued and looked quickly at the moon.

Electra was genuinely surprised once again. Jemima truly only thought about others and not herself.

"If you ever need someone to talk to, once again, I'll always be here for you", the dark tabby smiled crookedly.

"I know."

* * *

_January 1st_

The dreaded day had finally come, but Electra was ready. Tumblebrutus had been absolutely right, there was no turning back. Keep on walking forward, there is nothing to be afraid of.

"Rawr", Victoria said.

"Rawr", Etcetera and Electra replied at the same time. The three of them laughed.

Etcetera tilted her head and said, "Old Deuteronomy is holding a meeting of some sort. I think it must be pretty important."

"Probably assigning the new Jellicle Protector", Victoria smiled cheerfully. Electra didn't say anything.

* * *

"My fellow Jellicles, Happy New Year", Old Deuteronomy spoke to all of them and silence swept over the crowd of cats. "You all know that we have gone on for quite awhile without a Jellicle Protector."

"Score", Victoria whispered to Etcetera and they both chortled quietly.

"It is my pleasure to announce that my son, Munkustrap, will take on the role of the next Jellicle Protector", the Jellicle Leader spoke it without argument.

Electra wasn't surprised seeing as Alonzo was in no condition to become Protector.

"And the older Jellicles know what I am talking about, but the younger kittens, the ones that this will really affect, have no knowledge", Old Deuteronomy continued.

The kittens turned to each other in confusion, but Electra remained quiet. They would find out anyway.

"This is the year all of you turn 14 and it is a special year for us Jellicles. 14 marks the year of growing up and no longer being a kitten anymore", the Leader explained.

Jemima turned to Victoria and whispered, "What does that mean?"

"I have no idea."

Old D scratched himself idly before continuing, "We have monitored you for more than a year now and we know you all well. In two days each of you will be sent to another Jellicle stationed outside the Junkyard for extra instruction. I have chosen a specific instructor based on the observations from watching you kittens, but if you do not like the choice I have made, I give you the freedom to choose another one for yourself."

"Wait, we have to leave the Junkyard after we've just arrived?" Etcetera was confused.

"You shall return in almost three years. You're in luck too, the Pentanual (once every five years) Jellicle Ball is on that very year. You shall come back a week before the Ball", Old Deuteronomy smiled gently. "Three years is not such a long time."

"Maybe for you", Victoria muttered.

* * *

A few hours later, Old Deuteronomy met with each individual privately, in order of age once again. Finally it came to Electra's turn, and her growing unease wasn't helping matters.

"Ah, Electra", the Jellicle Leader's eyes sparkled with kindness.

"Old Deuteronomy", Electra replied respectfully wit her head bowed a little low.

He motioned for her to sit down next to him and said, "I always knew you were smart and after finding out how you helped rescue Alonzo, well it only made me see you in an even brighter light. I don't know what you plan on becoming, but I think you should strive to become the next, "Head of International Jellicle Safety Association". Have you heard of that?"

"I have no idea what that is", Electra admitted.

Old Deuteronomy laughed and said, "The International Jellicle Safety Association, otherwise known as, "IJSA", is a group of highly trained cats who monitor and help Jellicles around the world."

"You mean there are Jellicles other than us?" The dark tabby was sincerely surprised.

"Of course and the Head of IJSA is a demanding and respected position. It requires intelligence, instinct, moral value, generosity and determination, among other things", the Jellicle Leader looked at her closely.

"You think I have what it takes to become that?"

"Yes, I do think it's very possible", Old Deuteronomy winked at her. "Would you accept the extra instruction this calls for?"

"I accept", Electra answered, her head whirling in shock and amazement.

"You leave in two days then."

* * *

_January 3rd_

"Today's the last day we'll be together for a long time", Victoria told the Fantastic Four.

Etcetera laughed and said, "But we'll always be friends, right?"

"Don't you remember that pact we made?" Jemima asked. "Of course we'll always be friends."

Electra joined in, "We have a bond that will never be broken."

"Then let's make a second pact", Victoria suggested. The three others agreed immediately and held their paws out, stacked just like before.

"I solemnly swear to devote my life to this friendship of the Fantastic Four and always remain thus. This bond will never break and not even in death will we be seperated", the white queen chanted as her three friends followed suit.

* * *

They left the Junkyard gates one by one in a solemn line, but just as Electra was leaving, someone pulled her back. It was Plato.

"What's wrong, Plato?"

The tom looked at her with a lump in his throat as he asked, "Did I ever say I was sorry?"

"Sorry for what?" Electra wondered if he was still sane.

"Sorry for everything", he persisted.

The dark tabby blinked and said, "No, you didn't."

Plato sighed heavily and said, "Good."

The awkward silence hung over them until he said, "Goodbye Electra, see you in a few years."

"Goodbye."

* * *

As the dark tabby walked down the alleys towards her new instructor, a glove of sadness was wrapped around her.

"I keep on leaving places and it feels like I'm never coming back."

Images of her friends and family flashed through her mind.

"No, I will come back to the Junkyard one day, but until then I must keep walking forward and never look back."

_I am not afraid of what the future has in store for me and I will survive._

* * *

**A/N: Sorry once again for the long wait. Please review (heart).**

**Golden Cycle: Lots of Reviews = Happy Author. Happy Author = Quick Updates. Quick Updates = Happy Readers. Happy Readers = Lots of Reviews. (And repeat from the beginning.)**

**I need the motivation so let's just put this down:**

**10 or more reviewers (doubt it) = Update in 2 days.**

**5 or more reviewers = Update in 3 days.**

**3 or more reviewers = Update in 4 days.**

**1 or more reviewer(s) = Update in 5 days.**

**No reviewers = Update in 7 days.**

**So if you would take maybe 5 minutes of your time to review this chapter which took me about 2 hours to write.....I would be so happy. :D (guilt trip)**


	15. Main Jellicle Ball Arc 1

**A/N: Another short chapter. This is the first chapter of the Main Jellicle Ball Arc. Sort of an introduction.**

**Thank you to my beautiful reviewers:**

**To Evanne Taylor: Thank you so much for reading and enjoying this story. Intermission to me really just means break, but I suppose it is sort of half way. No Electra/Pouncival action in this chapter, but I have an idea about them for later. I think I feel your waves =P.**

**To Roselna: Lol, thank you so much for being so supportive! And the golden cycle continues.**

**To Don't know Don't Care 38: Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

**To musicgal3: I'm glad it was worth the wait, hopefully this wait was shorter but still worth it. Thank you for reading and reviewing!**

**To Yay!CoriIsn'tDead!!: Lol, yes she is aiming high and thank you for reading. Enjoy!**

**To xx-jenii-xx: I'm sorry I blackmailed you guys into reviewing, but it's also a way to keep me updating regularly. I almost didn't update today, because I was pretty busy. Your review made me laugh very hard. Thank you so much for enjoying this story. I hope this was a short enough wait. Enjoy!**

_**Listening to: Thnks fr th mmrs - Fallout Boy.**_

**_

* * *

A couple of years later..._**

Inhale. Exhale.

_I can hear the birds chirping. _

Inhale. Exhale.

_I can remember the Junkyard._

Inhale. Exhale.

_I can smell the scent of autumn leaves blowing away._

Inhale. Exha-

"Electra!"

_I can hear my name..._

"Knock, knock, anyone there?"

A soft rapping could be felt on the side of her head and she opened her heavy eyelids to see a familiar face.

Electra felt her mouth move as she formed the name of the owner of the face, "Master Arunika."

"We've known each other for more than two years now and you still insist on being so formal?" Her mentor stood up with a mock stern expression.

The dark tabby's mouth curled into a reluctant smile as she answered, "Master Arunika is as observant as always."

"Master" Arunika huffed jokingly, "I see what you're doing. Don't think for a second that I can't see right through your little act!"

"I would never act pretentiously in front of Master Arunika", Electra murmured quietly while looking down at the ground.

"For the umpteenth time, it's simply, 'Arunika', not 'Master Arunika', or 'Teacher Arunika' or Everlasting Cat forbid, 'Ms. Arunika'", Arunika rapped out. She raked her dull claws through her rough grey fur in habit as she said this.

Electra looked up, some things had changed, but seemingly none to herself. "As you wish, Master Arunika."

"Aha! I knew it would come to this, so I've decided to bribe you", Arunkia crowed triumphantly.

However, Electra wasn't even slightly affected as she replied, "I'm sure you have."

"You don't know what day is it?"

The dark tabby averted her eyes as she focused for a moment before saying, "October 24th and it's a Wednesday I believe."

"Actually Tuesday, but that's not really important", Arunika licked her lips slowly. "It's almost time for the next Jellicle Ball."

"Wait, I'm turning 16 this year so that means..." Her voice trailed off as she looked eagerly at Arunika for conformation.

The grey queen licked her sharp teeth while muttering, "I'd be more inclined to tell you if you asked me politely while using my correct name."

As Electra rolled her eyes she groaned, "Please tell me about the upcoming Jellicle Ball, Arunika."

"Oh my Everlasting Cat!!! I think that's the second time I've ever gotten you to say my name without a silly prefix!"

The dark tabby stared while sighing, "And to think that you're the one teaching me things."

"Fine, fine. You get to leave tomorrow for the Junkyard again and this time you'll stay until you're ready to move on", Arunika's voice was hyper and excited, reminding Electra of another Jellicle.

"You mean it?" _I'm finally going back._

"Of course", her teacher laughed. "And I have a guest list that came through messenger."

The moment the list was in Electra's grasp she began reading it.

_

* * *

The Guest List:_

_Admetus - Jellicle Protector_

* * *

"Admetus is the new Jellicle Protector?!" Two years was certainly a long time, but things couldn't possibly change that fast!

Arunika sighed and massaged the ridge of her nose, "That's his chosen career."

"Oh", Electra looked at the list quickly before realizing that indeed it would've made no sense.

_

* * *

_

_Electra - Head of the International Jellicle Safety Association_

_Etcetera - Kitten Caretaker_

_Jemima - Healer_

_

* * *

_"That does sound like Etcetera and Jemima", the dark tabby wondered aloud.

Arunika peered over her shoulder and said, "What do you mean?"

"I remember the two of them were both so kind", Electra murmured. "Being a Kitten Caretaker and Healer fits perfectly for each of them."

* * *

_Quaxo - Magician_

_Plato - Jellicle Leader_

_

* * *

_

"Quaxo could totally be a magician", Electra stifled a giggle, "And Plato would make an awesome Jellicle Leader."

"Why do you sound sarcastic", Arunika frowned. "You shouldn't laugh at their career choices."

"You're right", she bit her lip, "But it's kind of funny."

* * *

_Pouncival - Stand-Up Comedian_

_Tumblebrutus - Jellicle Protector_

_Victoria - Therapist_

_

* * *

_

"Stand-up, huh?" Electra smiled at the memories of Pouncival and his childish antics. "Tumble and Admetus are both going for Jellicle Protector."

"Pretty interesting", Arunika laughed.

The dark tabby's eyes dulled for a moment before whispering, "Victoria wants to become a therapist."

"What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing", Electra was surprised that Arunika's voice was so harsh.

"Why are you examining them so critically?"

Electra spoke, "I'm not!"

"You're being judgmental."

"No, I'm happy for them, I was just surprised at what they chose", Electra countered.

"Or what was chosen for them", Arunika said. "Leccy-chicky, I know what it's like to leave others for a few years."

"Maybe I'm just afraid that they've changed", the dark tabby reluctantly admitted.

Arunika dragged Electra into a sitting position and spoke gently, "We all change, even you've changed."

"Have I really changed? I'm still the same old Electra."

"You can't see it or sense it, but I remember when you first arrived, you were cold and frightened", Arunika said. "Such a kitten, but now...you're truly a Jellicle."

After a moment of comforting silence, Electra said, "So I leave tomorrow?"

"That's right."

* * *

_October 26th_

It took a whole day's walk to get to the Junkyard, but the excitement that Electra felt made the walk feel all the longer. Finally after nearly 3 years, she found herself staring at the worn away gates of the Junkyard. Gently putting one paw on the door she began thinking of the old days. Would everything still be the same?

Suddenly part of the wooden gate slid away leaving a gap and two eyes peered through the crack. _Must be a new addition._

"Hello, are you here about the Jellicle Ball?"

_That voice. I recognize that voice._

"Munkustrap?"

The eyes widened, confirming the identity of the "peeker" as he asked, "Do you have an invitation?"

Electra rummaged through her pack and pulled out a card. As she showed the card to Munkustrap's eyes, he narrowed his eyes and opened the door.

"Do you have a name?"

The dark tabby didn't think she'd been that translucent as a kitten. "Electra."

"Electra?" Munkustrap was shocked. "Really? I mean, wow. Wow, you've changed alot!"

"I guess I have", Electra said, "Especially since you can't recognize me."

"Sorry, now that I think about it, you haven't changed so much that I can't tell you were that little kitten", Munkustrap laughed. Electra could tell that the Jellicle Protector had changed too. Maybe it was the responsibility or just the fact that almost 3 years had by, but his face was smoother and had a more mature look. Even his voice was calmer than from what she remembered.

"Thank you for the warm welcome, Munkustrap. Is there a place that I will reside in?"

The Jellicle Protector laughed, "You really have grown up, Electra. A familiar face is in the center of the Junkyard and will take you to your new den."

"Thank you."

* * *

Her jaw dropped.

"Jemima?"

The beautiful calico in the middle of the Junkyard turned around and towards Electra. Her mouth curved upwards gently, "Electra."

The two queens embraced each other tightly before both exclaiming, "You've changed so much!"

"You're so beautiful", Electra said touching Jemima's head, which she realized, wasn't much shorter than her own.

Jemima smiled before answering, "You look so mature."

"I hope that's a good thing", the dark tabby teased good-naturedly.

"It is", the calico replied with a gentle and mellifluous voice that Electra couldn't recall Jemima having. "You're the last of the Fantastic Four to arrive, why don't you follow me?"

Jemima's timidness was gone. While she was still quiet and reserved, the calico didn't look at the ground while talking anymore. As Electra followed her, she wondered how much the others had changed. They entered a dimly lit den with a gorgeous carpet.

"Electra!!!!" Something white and furry flew into her and knocked her to the ground.

Without even seeing her face, Electra choked out, "Etcetera."

"Give her some room", a new voice could be heard.

"Victoria?"

A white queen with delicate features leaned over her and said, "Welcome back."

* * *

A glowing moon hung over the Junkyard accompanying the peace of the night. The Fantastic Four had told each other of their time during the extra lessons and exclaimed over how much everyone had changed. If Electra had thought Jemima had changed, Victoria had become an entirely different Jellicle. Still pure white, but now Victoria had a long and graceful body. Every movement was elegant and coordinated. Her face had thinned out in just the right places and she was just as beautiful as Jemima.

Etcetera was taller now, but as energetic as ever. Her fur was fuzzy and her voice wasn't as squeaky as before. If anyone had stayed much the same, it was Etcetera.

"I really can't believe it's been so long", Victoria smiled at the three others, "And I'm glad we're all still friends."

"Do you guys know your parts to the Jellicle Ball?" Electra hadn't really thought about it.

All three of them turned to her in surprise, "Yeah, they made us learn the moment we got here."

"Hm, well I have no idea what I'm supposed to do then", the dark tabby furrowed her eyebrows.

Etcetera jumped up, "Oh my Everlasting Cat! They haven't taught you your part yet!!!"

"Calm down", Electra laughed, "I'll go sort it out. You guys just stay here and chit-chat, okay?"

* * *

"We somehow forgot you, Electra", Bombalurina frowned deeply, "But we can fit you in."

"It's fine, I don't need a big part or anything", the dark tabby said quietly.

Bomba gave a grin, "That's really thoughtful of you."

"I suppose so", Electra laughed nervously.

* * *

As she trekked back to her new den, she came across a small pond with weeds growing wild all over the place. It took a moment before she realized it was Moon Pond.

"I knew you'd be here."

As Electra whirled around, she really should've known who it was from the very first syllable. However, even he had changed over the few years.

"Plato", her voice was a soft whisper. His face was long and pale, more so than before. His eyelashes were dark and long and his eyebrows arched high. The brown fur around his head was fuzzy and lighter than she recalled.

"It's been awhile", Plato smiled and his voice was deeper than she remembered.

Electra tilted her head to the side, "I suppose it has."

"Are you nervous about the Jellicle Ball tomorrow?"

"I think I am", she answered, keeping her voice level. "The Jellicle Ball is the most important event of the year."

"Don't be nervous", Plato walked towards her, effectively closing the distance between them. His paw gripped her shoulder gently and he looked deeply into her eyes. "You'll do fine."

They looked at each other for a few moments before he whispered, "Goodnight."

**A/N: This is a short chapter, but I hoped you enjoyed this nevertheless. Once again the golden cycle.**

**Golden Cycle: Lots of Reviews = Happy Author. Happy Author = Quick Updates. Quick Updates = Happy Readers. Happy Readers = Lots of Reviews. (And repeat from the beginning.)**

**And to help regulate my updates:**

**10 or more reviewers (doubt it) = Update in 2 days.**

**5 or more reviewers = Update in 3 days.**

**3 or more reviewers = Update in 4 days.**

**1 or more reviewer(s) = Update in 5 days.**

**No reviewers = Update in 7 days.**

**Thank you once again for reading. Love you 3**


	16. Jellicle Ball Part 1

**A/N: Hopefully my erratic updating patterns don't throw you off the story. I've had parts of this written up for _ages, _but never got around to finishing it. It's still not finished, so I'm splitting into two parts.**

**Winter break is coming up for me, so either you'll have an update fest, or I'll be lazing about doing nothing! We'll see :x**

"It's beginning", Etcetera hissed at the Fantastic Four, "This is going to be so huge!"

Electra peered from the main platform of the Junkyard and saw the area from there to the gates was packed with Humans, Pollicles, Rats, miscellaneous animals and even Jellicles from other places. She estimated there were at least a thousand in all just sitting there, waiting for the Jellicle Ball to begin. Never had any of the Fantastic Four seen so many different animals or so many in one place.

"Wow", was all Jemima was able to utter.

Victoria chuckled quietly, "Now I'm nervous."

"What do you have to be nervous about, Victoria?" Electra nudged her playfully and winked. "You'll do fine, we all will."

* * *

Munkustrap gathered the Jellilces one last time around him and whispered dramatically, "This is it! The one we've been waiting for! The one we've held our breathes and-"

"Get on with it, you striped sack", Alonzo hollered as good naturedly as ever.

The striped tabby Protector merely gave a disapproving smile and continued, "This is the Pentanual Jellicle Ball and I'm sure most of you have seen the size of the audience, but don't worry, you'll all be great! Humans, Pollicles, and animals from all over have gathered in the Junkyard today to watch our performance!"

Pointedly the Protector looked at Pouncival and Admetus, as if warning them not to pull anything funny.

"The point of this special Jellicle Ball is to make sure everyone in the world knows that there are cats like us", Munkustrap smiled gently, "So show them what kind of living beings the Jellicles of the Junkyard are!"

Loud, raucous cheers from the Jellicles sounded through the tense air.

* * *

A heavy silence filled the Junkyard as the performance began and Electra barely noticed what was going on. Her acting, dancing and singing were rather mechanical. From her few years of training, observing every small detail came as secondhand nature. Without even meaning to, the dark tabby scanned her surroundings apprehensively and felt alarms going off in her head. She looked at the audience carefully while spitting out, "With book and with bell!"

The first acts were completely lost on her as she looked for the dangers her mind was warning against. _Macavity isn't thick enough to appear at a time like this, is he?_ Macavity was not stupid and he knew very well that this Jellicle Ball in particular would have the tightest security.

* * *

As she scattered away with the rest of the Jellicles, her mind fell at ease with those thoughts and she began to pay attention to the performance. Victoria had stretched her lithe body out on the ground and began to dance. Only now did Electra realize how much Victoria had really changed. Gone was the shy blush that would occasionally cross her cheeks, gone was the insecurity that had been clear in her eyes. Instead, the beautiful white queen was dancing with confidence and determination in her bright eyes. Her legs arched gracefully and her paws were delicately placed. A quick peek at the audience revealed that Electra was not the only one in awe. The song ended as Victoria lay on the ground waiting for Quaxo.

As Quaxo pranced out and danced with Victoria briefly, Electra examined him closely. She remembered his face had been rather round, but now he had a much more mature look about him and as his voice rang clearly through the Junkyard, the dark tabby could tell he had changed for the better.

* * *

Munkustrap began to outline to the audience about the Jellicle Ball and foreshadowed the appearance of Old Deuteronomy. Electra took her place immediately behind Munkustrap and next to Jemima. One quick glance confirmed that the calico was still shorter than her. Electra hid a smile at the thought and "attacked" Munkustrap as trumpets blared. The Jellicles fought over greeting Munkustrap as if wanting to be introduced to the audience.

Quaxo drew himself up in a silly pose as Munkustrap denied him the pleasure of singing about the tuxedo tom, and instead sang about Jennyanydots. The dark tabby blinked in shock and finally remembered that she had not yet had a chance to rejoin with her parents. She took stock of her surroundings once again searching for the familiar face of her mother. Munkustrap and Quaxo ran towards the TSE 1 car trunk as the lid opened.

Electra's heart skipped a beat as a Jenny peered out of the trunk and straight at her. It was Jenny no doubt about it, yet her face was older and more lined than Electra remembered. Jenny yawned dramatically and began her introduction song happily, while wearing an oversized coat. Electra merely followed the lead of the others beside her. Almost wistfully, Electra grasped at childhood memories trying to remember everything she could about her mother. To the Jellicle Tribe, parenting was not the most important thing, for many of them were orphans brought in at a young age.

Later in the song, Pouncival hopped out dressed as a ridiculous cockroach and playfully interacted with Jenny. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, the dark tabby put on her own cockroach suit.

However focused Electra had been on her surroundings she had not seen her father, Skimbleshanks, watching from above. Skimble watched with gentle eyes at his dear Jenny dancing away on the stage. He leaned back and began to reminisce of the good old days.

Munkustrap took off the heavy coat Jenny was wearing with some help from his minions (Jelly, Demeter, and Bombalurina) and Jenny began tap dancing with the rest of the "cockroach" Jellicles. Never had Electra seen her mother so alive and energetic and a surge of of relief filled the dark tabby's heart. The song ended and Jenny greeted her closest friends. Next up was the Rum Tum Tugger, which Munkustrap had not been looking forward to announcing. As Jenny reached Munkustrap and said a few words, an obnoxiously loud rock piece blasted through the Junkyard.

The sound of a newspaper being ripped away echoed followed shortly by a drawling, "Meow." The said meower stood there with a cool expression on his face. Most of the Jellicles turned around to see who it was.

No surprise: The Rum Tum Tugger had arrived. Of course he was _supposed _to have waited for Munkustrap to narrate a short intro, but he was Tugger, and obviously not one for instructions. He jumped down and repeated, "Meow", in the slight drawl he always spoke with. Of course the Jellicles had no choice but to begin his song. Munkustrap and most of the other Jellicles cleared out the center, after sending a few heated glares towards the Maine Coon. Tugger took it with a stride and signaled Jemima to come dance with him. Again Electra was surprised that the two were still getting on so well even after Tugger had "moved on" without telling Jemima. Even more shocking was that the calico was actually flirting with him. Unsurprisingly, Etcetera still fawned over the handsome tom devotedly.

The dark tabby ran in to join Victoria and Jemima dancing on the side. Throughout the song, Tugger gave special attention to Jemima, in a way that was making Bombalurina seethe. After Quaxo gave his low opinion of the "bore", Tugger stroked under Jemima's chin making her eyes roll up as she mewed. Finally, Bomba, unable to take it anymore, forced her way to the front and made a loud interruption.

"The Rum Tum Tugger is a curious beast", in a tone and manner that would make most toms kneel down for her. Tugger wasn't fazed even a bit and continued his song on with suavity no other toms could match. He turned towards Jemima again and twirled her around, then looking back saw Bombalurina. The two danced rather intimately with the older cats looking on disapprovingly. As the red bombshell offered herself up to Tugger, the Maine Coon looked straight at the audience and sneered, "No", as he dropped her on the ground quite rudely.

Bombalurina frowned and got up to try again, with a stance that was quite drool-worthy. However Tugger smirked and took the opportunity to use his flexible hips to bump her away. Taking the hint finally, the scarlet queen sauntered away even as Tugger ran towards Jenny and Jelly seeing his chance to cause more trouble. He jumped up towards Skimble who instinctively flinched away, which Electra admitted was probably wise, and slid down the TSE 1 trunk to interrupt Jenny and Jelly's sewing. He kissed Jelly on the nose and Jenny on the cheek, both of them looked outraged as Tugger went to the kittens impressing them with a simple dizzying rotation of his hips.

Another perfect chance to create indignation came in the form of a spaced out Demeter leaning against the oven. Deme's dislike of Tugger was extremely well known, and the Maine Coon merely added to the fuels of that fire by playing around with her. Undeterred by her meaningful swipe, the Rum Tum Tugger danced out and raised his arms to rally the other Jellicles.

Every single soul in the Junkyard was focused on Tugger and he knew it and loved every single moment of it. As his admirers gathered around him, Tugger basked in the moment before waving them away with an easy going grin. They all scattered away but the Fantastic Four clung tightly to him, sitting around him in a circle.

During the first round of his rotating hips, the kittens all mewled as Bombalurina gave Pouncival some "special" attention. The second round of hip rotation and rocking elicited high pitched squeals from the Fantastic Four. The third time around, all of the Fantastic Four but Etcetera were left with dizzy minds. Etcetera was not affected at all and instead screeched loudly in her excitement, as adorable as ever. Her excited noises stopped when Tugger put a paw close to her mouth and finished his song. He ran up towards the TSE 1 (getting a bit sidetracked on the way) to finish and introduce Bustopher Jones, who was predictably late.

* * *

However the atmosphere of the Junkyard suddenly darkened and Electra could smell the presence of a stranger. The Rum Tum Tugger's expression became one of disgust as he pointed to the edges of the stage.

The Jellicles turned to see what it was the Rum Tum Tugger was pointing at. Shocked that someone could get in the Junkyard so easily, Electra's eyes quickly darted to a nearby security guard. He was speaking into his walkie talkie furiously and no doubt asking what was going on.

An old, battered looking Queen walked in the Junkyard slowly, limping slightly. The whole atmosphere fell down to a mysterious and dangerous tone. Some of the Jellicles scurried away at the surprising intrusion.

Quaxo walked up to the mysterious Queen, but just as she was about to touch his face, Munkustrap pushed him out of the way and stood tall, as if guarding all the Jellicles from the weak Queen. His eyes were dark with a warning. Suddenly Jemima reached across towards the Queen her paw stretched hopefully, but Skimble cut her off and guided her away. The petite calico mewed softly, but followed his direction.

Bombalurina walked towards the battered cat with a revolted look and turned away as if the sight was too much to bear. The expression on Grizabella's face was one that was heartbreakingly broken. Electra could not help but reach out towards her as well. The feeling of pity and sympathy was overwhelming, and only shattered through, when her mother forbade her to proceed with a sharp cut of the arm. Jenny shook her head at the Queen with a look of, "I can't believe you're here."

As the old Queen limped further forward, she caught the sight of Pouncival reaching out to her and even as she lurched forward, Electra's heart plummeted. _What was Pouncival doing?_ Even as she thought that, Pounce struck forward and slapped the old Queen's paw maliciously. Plato and Tumble had treated it like a joke, but the dark tabby could tell this had hurt the Queen beyond just being slapped on the paw. Admetus and Quaxo sat in the background unsure of what to think, but not joining in on the jokes.

Demeter walked forward as if about to comfort the Queen, but quickly turned away. For some unknown reason, Demeter shied away quickly towards Bombalurina who brought her into a close hug. Munkustrap circled around and crouched low, staring down the older cat. Suddenly she began to sing, and Electra could tell by her voice, how old and tired the Queen really was.

Victoria and Etcetera crawled towards the singing figure, with Jelly trying to persuade them to stop. The Queen reared back and sang in Jelly's face, which prompted the Jellicle to turn with the two others, and flee. She continued singing, and watched Cassandra saunter to Munkustrap and wordlessly communicate a single message.

Demeter began to sing about the old Queen (presumably), and Electra watched as the old cat smiled. However, suddenly she ducked down and covered her expression of pain. Cassandra had intertwined herself with Alonzo at this point, before Alonzo untangled them and the two judged her.

"And who would ever suppose that that, was Grizabella the Glamour Cat", Demeter finished looking down sadly, just as Bombalurina came and joined in. Electra quickly noted that the old Queen's name was Grizabella, just like the main character in the story Skimble used to tell the kittens. As if having an epiphany, the other Jellicles joined in with the song, and forced her to leave. Even Electra joined in, not knowing why, but being swept by the crowd.

Just as she left, the atmosphere lifted considerably and jaunty music began as the dark tabby noticed Bustopher Jones had finally arrived. The Fantastic Four slid to the side to watch the song.

Jenny began to introduce the Cat About Town, as Etcetera giggled.

"Seems like your mom has a crush on him", she teased.

Electra whispered, "They used to date or something, but it's nothing more than that."

Jenny, Jelly and Bomba began to outline his character, remarking on some obvious things (such as the fact that he was quite large). The toms rushed to greet him, fighting over his favor and even Skimble managed to look quite happy to see his old rival. Munkustrap greeted Bustopher Jones with a handsome salute and brought out a top hat for him to sit on. It was a sturdy top hat, mind you.

Quaxo had spent much time with Bustopher Jones during his extra training as a magician, for the Saint James St. Cat loved his tricks. As Bustopher Jones sang, Quaxo nodded along agreeing amiably.

Half of his song ended up being about food, but none of the Fantastic Four were especially surprised to hear it. Bustopher Jones also enjoyed leaning back on the top hat dramatically to raise his voice, and Electra could tell he was going to end up falling if his balance was off.

Finally as he was trying to do something fancy, he almost tipped backward off the hat, but was caught by Munkustrap and Quaxo just in time. He tottered towards the edge of the stage and almost fell down again, but Quaxo had very fast reflexes.

Jenny continued on the song as if nothing had happened and even swooned a bit at the "25 pounder" part. Personally Electra had no idea why her mother was so taken by that. At the mention of him putting on even more weight everyday, Jemima gave a horrified look at the happy tom.

Bustopher Jones began to examine the toms lined up for inspection and accidentally passed Coricopat without so much as a glance. As he reached Pouncival, he knocked him over with the spoon, and Pounce playfully went along.

As the song ended, Bustopher took out a rose and presented it to Jenny who grabbed hold of it, and promptly fainted.

Suddenly, loud thunder crashed through the area and the sirens were tripped off. Electra immediately flashed into action, her instincts taking over, and looked for the cause of the alarms. Bustopher Jones fled off the stage as Munkustrap held out his arms in a guarding stance.

Demeter whispered dramatically, "Macavity!"

Her in built Macavity sensor had never failed before, and the Jellicles scattered in fear. Alonzo and Munkustrap secured the area, though neither of them believed Macavity would actually appear at a moment like this. Being Jellicle Protector, Munkustrap went along with the Macavity fright and tried to make it seem like it was part of the show for the audience.

The black and white tabby tom leaped from the stage when he felt sure that Macavity wasn't around.

* * *

Electra hurried to one of the security guards specially hired for this Jellicle Ball and asked him for information. The guard obeyed merely because he could recognize Head Arunika's protege like all others. She listened in rapt attention as Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer sang about their mischief. After the save Alonzo incident, they had found out that Rumpleteazer had not betrayed them at all. It had been Plato the whole time, and so Old Deuteronomy apologized on their behalf for knocking her out and leaving her at Macavity's lair. Being Rumpleteazer, she had easily escaped after that.

As their song was coming to a close, Electra cut the guard off and ran out onto stage with the rest of the Jellicles, effectively trapping the two naughty cats.

Once again the atmosphere changed rapidly, this time to a calm and mysterious tone. The Mystical Twins seemed to sense something, as did Quaxo.

Quaxo sniffed at the air with a pleasant look and whispered reverently, "Old Deuteronomy?"

Munkustrap turned towards the Mystical Twins and they confirmed it, "I believe it is Old Deuteronomy."

The Jellicles began to sing of Old Deuteronomy as Munkustrap signaled Quaxo to go escort the Jellicle Leader in. Plato had draped himself over Jemima, to which Electra observed curiously, had he not promised Victoria the Mating Dance? Victoria seemed undisturbed and merely snuggled closer to Munkustrap.

Even as Tugger surprisingly appeared and sang respectfully of the old tom, the Jellicles rolled about on the ground. Tugger suddenly pointed towards the Junkyard entrance, and the Jellicles gathered into one group to greet their Leader.

Old Deuteronomy swept in, and Electra felt as if he had brought a wave of happiness and calm towards all of them. The Fantastic Four immediately went and fawned over his rug-like fur as the Jellicle Leader shook the paws of other Jellicles. Shockingly, Tugger bowed down gracefully in honor of his father.

Munkustrap signaled the "rejoice" of the Jellicles now that the Jellicle Leader had appeared.

They had been prepared for this act, and quickly ran to start the act of "The Awful Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles."

Once again, the Jellicle Protector outlined the act and the battle, including the Rumpus Cat. Then he began to narrate the story and described the dull event, in an exciting manner.

Rumpleteazer jumped out, dressed as a peke, as Mungojerrie hopped out as well, dressed as a Pollicle. However as the two tried to bark at each other, the order managed to get messed up, and to no avail Munkustrap attempted to correct it.

Several toms paraded around dressed as Pollicles, Quaxo and Skimble came out dressed as who knows what, and danced about as Tugger took out his bagpipes. The act was not going as it was necessarily was supposed to, but the Jellicle Protector took it in a stride.

Hurriedly, the Fantastic Four put on Pug and Pom masks joined the "Pekes" as they barked at the "Pollicles" viciously. It seemed like an all out tom versus queen costume party war. They started howling and yelling and barking wildly as Munkustrap cried, "NO!" Silence fell.

Munkustrap continued the story, half-talking to Old Deuteronomy, half-talking to the audience. He introduced the Great Rumpus Cat, however Admetus, who had dressed up as such, did not take his cue correctly (or seriously) and jumped out at the wrong spot.

Admetus strived to be difficult with the black and white tabby as they both acted out the part. Tugger managed to interrupt and tried to steal the spot light, but of course Admetus won over in this case.

The Jellicles gathered around Old Deuteronomy yet again, listening to what he had to say. Electra nudged Etcetera playfully and the two quietly chatted over small details.

The thunder and sirens went off again, tearing through the Junkyard terrifyingly.

"Macavity!" Demeter's voice rang out stronger this time as if trying to ward him away. This time, Electra caught a glimpse of his face through the edging darkness. The Jellicles scattered under Munkustrap's directions, but Old Deuteronomy merely gave a sympathetic look around himself. However this time, Munkustrap was more worried than before, and nearly jumped Victoria as she backed out from her hiding spot.

She seemed scared for some reason, and Jemima had come out of hiding as well, though Electra had no idea why, and neither did Munkustrap, it seemed. The two queens danced and set a few poses in front of Old Deuteronomy, matching his call for Jellicles to come back out.

Both Victoria and Jemima were extremely beautiful in different ways. They seemed like opposites standing next to each other. Victoria stood tall, graceful and proud, her white coat shimmering under the moon. In contrast to Jemima, shorter, her movements naturally enticing, and her expression, a curious one. Jemima's rust colored fur extended everywhere, but her forearms, lower legs, upper back and chest were patched white.

Alonzo came out from the side, flirting unashamedly with the two queens in the center. It seemed he had gone back to his old ways in the short amount of time they had been gone. His voice was charming and hinting as he danced closer, hips gyrating the whole time. Victoria and Jemima didn't appear to mind his attention, rather Jemima seemed quite taken.

More and more Jellicles appeared again and stated something about Jellicles in general. In the background, two separate private dances seemed to be going on. Coricopat and Tantomile, closer than ever, were sharing a special moment, as Jemima and Alonzo danced closer and closer. Electra cartwheeled to her mother as Pouncival became determined to beat her with forward cartwheels, Jelly looking on sternly. The dark tabby noticed that Alonzo had draped himself over the calico, his large long form smothering her smaller frame and began to wonder exactly how much Jemima had changed.

The rest of the Jellicles gathered and continued telling the audience about Jellicle Cats, until Tugger made a convenient appearance, causing the queens around him to fawn for his attention. Electra focused on getting the dance moves right, her lips automatically forming the lyrics to the songs. Every Jellicle learns the same dance moves and song lyrics from the time they are raised in the Kitten Compound. Even several years away from the Junkyard could not make any one of them forget.

The queens left the stage to let the younger toms show off what they had been practicing. Quaxo, Alonzo and Pouncival fooled around with Bombalurina looking on. Tumblebrutus soon joined his friends with their playful taunting as Cassandra made her own grand entrance. Soon enough the toms left the stage for the queens.

Bombalurina, Cassandra, Etcetera, Demeter and even Tantomile gave a small performance before being joined in by a tom. Tugger paired with Bomba, Admetus with Cassandra, Alonzo headed to Etcetera, oddly, Plato got with Demeter, and predictably Coricopat took Tantomile.

The Jellicles almost got carried away until Old Deuteronomy stepped in the middle and reminded them of the next act.

Victoria's Mating Dance began, and Electra found herself happy for her friend and not at all jealous that she was with Plato during her special dance. Electra contently joined Quaxo as she watched Jemima crawl off towards Tumblebrutus. Etcetera snuggled with Admetus by the side and the Jellicles all lay down to nap.

Just as their heads touched the ground, Coricopat and Tantomile seemed to sense something that was off. Electra felt Quaxo look up and around in alarm as well. Skimble sniffed the air and the remaining Jellicles all awoke.

The intruder was discovered lurking above the T.S.E. 1 trunk and near the rocking chair, Grizabella had come once again. The party began once again, and the lights flashed wildly as the music blared. Old Deuteronomy watched on as they continued dancing.

Finally they jumped up in ending and fell down in silence.

Grizabella lurched forward, tottering on her heels, the somber mood smothered the Junkyard as the Jellicles hissed and backed away from the elderly queen. Yet again, Jemima reached out towards her, only to be directed away by Skimble again. Pouncival reiterated his cruel joke bumping her away, Demeter once again looked reluctantly sympathetic. Old Deuteronomy called Munkustrap off as he guarded Demeter and Bomba.

Jelly, Jenny and Victoria came out of hiding, and while Jelly and Jenny were there to mock Grizabella, Victoria was determined to reach her. Jelly roughly shoved the white queen out of the way, and the two darted into the shadows. Jemima resolved to touch the old queen as well, as she sang with her angel voice, Jenny grabbed her paw away and hissed at Grizabella. They ran into hiding as well.

Victoria and Jemima joined Etcetera and Electra sitting down in the background.

"Why are you two so intent on reaching her?" Etcetera whispered.

Victoria looked down with a pained expression, "How can you look at her and not feel sorry?"

"What's she done wrong?" Jemima wondered aloud.

Electra's voice came in a hushed tone, "She betrayed the Junkyard a long time ago."

"How long ago?"

Grizabella's old, and withered voice was ringing through the stage at that point.

The dark tabby looked over towards her and said, "Around 40 years ago."

"I feel like I know her from somewhere", Jemima's soft voice cut through her thoughts. "I can almost reach her, it seems."

Grizabella's voice faded away, and she walked towards the exit of the stage, only pausing at the edge to extent her paw out as if waiting for someone to grasp it. When nothing came, she left, as Old Deuteronomy had gotten up.

The Jellicles gathered around the stage waiting on Gus the Theatre Cat to arrive, fighting amongst themselves. Jelly escorted an unsteady and aged tom to his seat, which was brought in by Jenny.

Old Deuteronomy broke into a calming song, "The Moments of Happiness". No one really knew what it was about, but it sounded nice.

As he ended quietly, Coricopat and Tantomile began to behave oddly and suddenly they lifted Jemima to stand up. The calico stood up with a serene expression on her face as she began to sing.

Her voice was flawless, and pure, steady and flowing. She explained Old Deuteronomy's meaning into a simpler song and soon the Jellicles joined in. Electra felt that she finally understood what the song was about. The Moments of Happiness.

They cleared the stage for Gus who had wandered about, his paws never still. Old Deuteronomy and Jellylorum guided him back to his seat

Jellylorum began the song, as she was the one who had known Gus the longest. Her voice was surprisingly light and warm, compared to her sharp reprimands of younger kittens. As she described his amazing theatre feats, the old tom had the sense to look down modestly. His frail voice wheedled out and he told them of his experiences. He scoffed at newer performances, saying they could not measure up to the old days.

He was unable to finish his song, as his voice broke at the remembrance of the old times, and Jelly took him off stage in a gentle hug.

**You might be saying, "Is that it?" or "That was a horrible chapter!" Either way, there's more, so if you'd be so kind as to stick around ;) Reviews kind of do inflate my ego, but they also remind me that I owe everything to my readers :) *hint hint***

**~ Will try to update soon ~**


End file.
